Redemption
by PiercetheNightVale
Summary: "Your acceptance into this team doesn't rely on my forgiveness, Grant. It relies on theirs" Coulson brings Ward back to the Bus after a mole operation goes South. But skye can't forgive him unless Fitzsimmons does too. Will he be able to earn his team's trust again?
1. Chapter 1

_Your acceptance back into this team doesn't rely on my forgiveness. _The words had been haunting Ward for nearly a week. His fist conversation with Skye since he escaped hadn't exactly gone as planned. Ever since he had infiltrated Hydra, he had been doing all he could to sabotage them. He had been so careful. But Whitehall… Whitehall was smart and he figured Ward out. He had no choice but to abandon his mission and try and return to Shield. Coulson believed he had been trying to help. May hadn't. Ward predicted that.

Skye's reaction, that was what threw him. For the millionth time, Ward replayed the scene in his head.

Flashback

He had just barely escaped from Hydra's base with his life. He was a little roughed up, to say the least. Blood was dripping from a bullet wound in his arm and most of the right side of his face was bruised.

Ward hadn't expected a "Welcome Back" party, but he had expected someone to greet him, for security reasons at least. But the new Shield base looked absolutely deserted.

Honestly, Ward was surprised Coulson had given him the location. His trust was hard to earn and even harder to earn back. But Shield was in a sorry state, and he need good agents out in the field. He had made it perfectly clear that the only reason he was being allowed back was because he was useful. No one trusted him and no one liked him, so the second he became more trouble than he was worth, he was gone. But still, it showed some faith on Coulson's part to give Ward a secret that could destroy him.

He'd been a fool to think everyone would be as forgiving as Coulson. He'd met May again as soon as he'd gotten back on the Bus. She probably hated him even more than Skye did, if that was possible. She was less subtle with her threats than Coulson had been.

"One foot out of line" she warned, "And there won't even be a body for Hydra to bury"

"You assume that I'm still aligned with Hydra"

"Better than assuming you're loyal to Shield"

She turned around and began to walk away. Just as she was about to round the corner and be out of Ward's sight, she turned back, "And don't talk to her, Ward. You'll only make it worse for her"

She didn't need to say who she was talking about. May turned back around without another word and vanished to wherever her new cave was here.

As much as Ward wanted to see her, May was right. Seeing Skye now would only cause more tension and hatred. No, he needed to prove himself to her first, trust would come later. Just as he decided this, the object of his thoughts came around the corner that May had vanished behind.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw him. She very subtly went into a combat stance, but Ward noticed it. He has been the one to teach her to always be ready for a fight.

"Skye" he said. He said it like she was something to be revered, which to him, she was. It was the first time he had said her name out loud since he had seen her. Skye had been someone to only exist in his memories for so long; he had almost forgotten that Hydra knew about her too.

"I… I didn't know you were here" she said simply.

"Coulson didn't tell you?" that surprised Ward. Coulson saw her as a daughter; there was no way he'd keep something this big from her.

"He didn't give me the specifics." Skye said, then added coldly, "And I definitely didn't think he'd let you in here"

"Skye just let me explain"

"What explanation can you possibly give that would make things okay?"

"I never said it was going to make things okay" Ward replied, "Just listen"

Skye crossed her arms but didn't turn away from him, that was at least a start.

"I know that I hurt you. And I'm sorry" he began, "But you need to understand why I did it. Garrett was my family at the time. I didn't love him, but he was all I had. Hydra for me was what Shield was for you. A new beginning. By the time I realized the Hydra Garett told me about wasn't the Hydra of reality… I was in too deep to get out. I didn't know how. It would be like you trying to leave Shield. Most of the things I did, I did for Garrett. And when he died…"

The words died on his lips. Skye knew what it was like to not have a family. She knew how he must have felt.

"It doesn't matter, Grant" she said quietly. Her use of his first name threw him off guard. She had never called him Grant under good circumstances.

"What?" he replied

"It doesn't matter that you did it for your family. Families don't blindly follow each other. I question Coulson and I question Shield. I never follow an order unless I know exactly what I'm doing and who I'm doing it for. That's why it took Shield this long to accept me. So don't try and tell me we're alike."

"Skye…"

"And you don't betray your family. You don't shoot your family. You don't throw your family into the ocean. You don't give your family nightmares so bad that they don't sleep more than an hour a night and have to be put under psychoanalysis. Families don't do that"

Ward took a hesitant step towards her, "you've been having nightmares?"

"You lost the right to ask me questions like that" she snapped

"You're right. I'm sorry" he sighed, then added, "About everything, Skye. I am so sorry. I know it doesn't help, but I'm trying to become a better man"

"I'll believe that when I see it" she scoffed

"You will, Skye" Ward insisted, "But until you do… you're going to accept that you have to see me. Everyday"

"I'm going to see what Bobby thinks of you"

"Bobby?"

"She's the best agent I know," Skye said. She said the name with great respect; almost with as much respect as she does with Coulson, "Better than May. Better than you. And she can spot a liar from a mile away. If she trusts you, then so can I"

Ward stared at her in silence for a moment. It was a terrifying feeling to realize that her trust in him depended on someone he'd never met.

"You know what's weird," she said, interrupting his train of thought "I don't really care about most of it. People make mistakes and they follow the wrong people. Shield has secrets that made me want to leave. I've forgiven you for everything that you've done to me"

"You have?"

"But what I can't forgive" she said, "I can't forgive what you did to Fitzsimmons. You and Coulson both seem to think that your betrayal hurt me the most, but no matter how much pain I'm in having you here, it's worse for them. Your acceptance into this team doesn't rely on my forgiveness, Grant. It relies on theirs"

"And if they don't?"

"Then back your bags," she said, "Because it'll be a hard life for you here with Coulson as your only ally"

End of Flashback

So that was Ward's first encounter with Skye since he'd left. He didn't know what he expected from her. He hadn't didn't let himself hope for complete forgiveness right off the bat. But for her entire opinion of him to rest on other people's shoulders… he didn't know how to deal with that.

He had never been good at making first impressions. It was a miracle Skye had even survived working under him at all. If he messed things up with this Bobby person, it was all over.

And Fitzsimmons. He put his head in his hands. How could he ever apologize to them? He had nearly killed them. He had thought about how to atone for that one since it had happened, but he had never thought he would be allowed back so he'd never actually made a decision.

He had sure royally fucked this one up. The only people who had ever seemed to care about him were on this team, and they all hated him. And then he had Skye's nightmares to think about.

He knew she was prone to them in times of stress. He'd woken up to her screaming enough to know how debilitating they could be. Who had comforted her in his absence? Coulson, probably. But he didn't know how to deal with emotional pain. He didn't know what it was like to feel completely alone. Ward did, and it killed him to realize that not only had be abandoned Skye when she needed him, but he was also the cause of so much pain for her.

He didn't know where to start, but tomorrow there would be a debriefing for all the current agents and he'd see them all again. He stared up at the ceiling on his new bunk and wondered just how he was going to earn this team's trust again.


	2. Chapter 2

"You should have told us he was coming back today" May said in a scolding tone.

"I didn't know, Melinda," he said. But he could still see the disbelief in her eyes, "I honestly didn't. I didn't know the operation had gone south until a few days ago and he didn't have a chance to make contact"

May rolled his eyes at him. Coulson might be the director now, but he could still be so reckless. Honestly, letting a known and dangerous Hydra agent inside their already compromised base. He always insisted that he thought things through, but he constantly reminded her of a certain Hacker who was known to make questionable and dangerous decisions.

As if on cue, Skye entered the lab, laptop in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. May had noticed the she had become completely reliant on caffeine since Shield's fall. May had lectured Skye about it before; how it would negatively affect her nerves and decision making, but Skye had just rolled her eyes and said _"Yes, mom"_

May wasn't an idiot; she knew that Skye still wasn't sleeping. As much as she had tried to cover it up, she was still shaken up over the fall of Shield. She'd lost her job and everything she believed in, not to mention her SO. Her entire world had come crashing down around her. That wasn't something you could get passed overnight. Yet she had tried and nearly run herself into the ground. No one else was perceptive enough to see it, but Skye was slowly killing herself and there was nothing May could do to stop it. She saw so much of herself in the little girl that she had resented at first. But now… Skye was the one who needed her the most. She had grown up without parents and needed some sort of maternal figure. Phil was a good father, but he lacked the ability to say no to her. May on the other hand…

"Earth to Supervising Officer Melinda May," Skye said as she waved a hand in front of May's face.

"What?" May snapped, momentarily snapped out of her internal monologue. Sometimes Skye was irritating enough that May forgot how much she loved her.

"I was asking if you knew _he _was coming"

"I did not" May said, as she glared at Coulson

"So our fearless leader left you out of the loop too?" She asked. May could hear the hurt under the layer of humor. Skye hated when Coulson kept secrets from her, unfortunately it was part of the job description as the director.

"Our 'fearless' leader has bigger problems to attend to, Skye" she scolded.

"One of them being the tracking device" Coulson said, trying to diffuse the situation. Sometimes they were too alike for their own good, "Any progress"

"Yeah, actually" Skye said, "I worked all night on it"

"All night?" Coulson asked, "You didn't sleep at all?"

"This was more important" Skye said as she took a sip of her coffee. Coulson seemed to buy it, but Skye knew that May knew she wouldn't have slept anyways. The lies were going to catch up with her eventually, but not today. She pulled a small chip out of her bag, "I was able to make it small enough that no one should notice it. But…"

"Why does there always have to be a but?" Coulson asked

"But" Skye continued, "I can't think of a practical way to attach it without physical contact with the subject"

"So we have make contact?" May asked

"Unfortunately" Skye grimaced.

"Just a small stumbling block" Coulson said sarcastically, "We'll wait until the others show up before we discuss this issue any further. There's something else I wanted to talk to you about, Skye"

"Please don't" she said, already guessing the topic. She had hours to think about it last night and she was less than thrilled that Ward was here. But everyone else had sucked it up and accepted it, so she should too.

"I know it doesn't seem like it sometimes, but I take all my agent's feelings into consideration before I make decisions," Coulson said, "So if it's a problem-"

"It's not, sir" Skye said quickly, "I know why you did it"

"You do?" he asked. He sounded amused. May rolled her eyes. Skye was playing him just like she always did with her personal problems. Making herself seem obedient and understanding when she was really just trying to get more info. And Coulson fell for it. Every. Damn. Time. May honestly believed if it wasn't for her, Coulson would sell Shield's secrets to every pretty girl, with big brown eyes. At least Skye normally used her powers for good.

"Traitor or not" Skye said, "We need good agents. And Ward is a good agent"

"But no one will trust him in the field" May interjected

"They will if they want to survive" Coulson countered, "Skye, can you go wake up the others? We need to start this meeting sometime today"

"Yes sir," she said, giving an exaggerated salute before leaving.

"What do you want to say?" Coulson asked turning to May.

"Nothing I haven't said before" May retorted

Coulson sighed, "I know you disapprove of this" May scoffed, but Coulson ignored it, "But Skye's right. We need more trained agents. Almost everyone useful is dead or with Hydra. You and Bobby are good, but you can't do it alone"

"We have almost the entire academy on our side"

"You expect me to send fresh graduates out into the Field?"

"Skye's a field agent and she didn't even attend the academy"

"Skye's different, May. You know that"

"She's a child, Phil" May said. Her voice bordered on yelling, "And you're sending her out there on missions she's not ready for because she's 'special'"

"Mock me all you want, May, but she is special"

"I'm not mocking you" May said, "I'm trying to make you see your own foolishness"

"I'm not-" Phil saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Skye was back with Hunter, Fitz, and Simmons in tow, "We'll continue this later" Phil whispered

"Looks like Mom and Dad are fighting" Hunter said as he took a seat next to Skye, who appeared to have poured herself a fresh cup of coffee.

"Not fighting, just discussing" Phil said.

"That-that's what my parents used to say before they got divorced," Fitz said quietly.

"We're not getting divorced, Fitz," Coulson replied.

"And we're also not married," May added quickly

The six of them sat in silence and waited for Bobby, Trip, Mack, and Ward to join them. No one was comfortable with the silence, but no one knew what to say. Skye focused on trying to keep her jittery hands under control. May constantly lectured her on her coffee intake, and Skye knew she was right. But how else was she supposed to keep herself sane? Without coffee, she'd be exhausted. But instead, she could spend her time actually making a difference here. And if she needed a pot of coffee a day, then so be it.

Skye saw Bobby walk in from the corner of her eye. Of course, the agent already looked perfect at 8 o'clock in the morning. Skye couldn't help but notice that she stood a little closer to Hunter than she had when she arrived.

"Can't we start now" Skye complained, "Almost everyone is here" Skye was slightly worried that she'd go crazy if she didn't have something to do. She rarely got the opportunity to present things on her own, but this tech was of her own creation. For once, she had the spotlight and she just wanted to show off her damn tracker.

"Patience, Skye" Jemma said soothingly. Skye gave her a reassuring smile. So Jemma had noticed how high strung she was too. And Skye thought May was the only one she couldn't fool.

"Where the hell are Mack and Tripp?" Bobby asked. She purposefully forgot to mention Ward. Bobby didn't personally know him, but she could see the damage he'd left here in his wake. But even though she hadn't spoken the name, everyone knew who the final person missing there.

"They're probably sleeping in" Jemma replied, "It is a Saturday, Sir"

"Well, Shield agents don't get weekends" May replied, "I'll go wake them"

As May walked off, Hunter said, "She's just a bundle of sunshine today"

"I wouldn't say that around her," Coulson warned

"But it might be kinda fun to watch Hunter get punched in the throat," Skye teased.

"I second that," Bobby interjected

"Why do you both get so much pleasure from my pain?" Hunter pouted.

"Ah, it's just a joke, Hunter" Skye replied, "How would I survive without my second best man having my back in the field?"

"Only second?"

"Sorry, Fitz was here first"

Skye turned to the aforementioned scientist, who had turned a dark shade of red and looked both flattered and mortified. Much to Fitz's relief, Trip and Mack walked in, silencing Hunter as he began to explain why _he _should be Skye's favorite.

"Found them" May said coldly, "But I didn't find Ward." Skye, Fitz, and Simmons noticeably stiffened at his name. They always did when the former agent was mentioned. The others didn't feel the sting of Ward's betrayal like Coulson's original team members, but they knew enough that it was almost always a topic of conversation to avoid.

"Let's just start then," Skye said. She tried to take any emotion out of her voice. She wanted to make it clear that Ward's presence here didn't affect. She was probably failing miserably, of course, but it was worth the effort.

Skye got up to the edge of the lab table and opened up her laptop. On it was a program that no one on this team knew about except for Coulson and Fitzsimmons. She had been secretly working on it almost since the fall of Shield. She held up the small microchip that had been resting in her back pocket.

"This," she said as she passed it around the table, "Is a tracking device."

"One she created herself," Jemma added proudly

"Yeah, I designed it, but Fitz engineered it and worked out a lot of the bugs," Skye said, then said pointedly to Hunter, "Which is why he is my favorite"

"But the program that runs it," Fitz interrupted hastily, "Was all Skye"

"You'll make me blush," Skye replied. May shot a disapproving look her way and she cleared her throat and continued as professionally as possible, "As far as I can tell, it works within the 40 mile radius I've been able to test it on. Maybe farther, but I can't tell without any further experimenting."

"I can sense a but coming" Tripp said dryly

"Unfortunately, there is one" Skye said, "While it works wonders on agents who want to be tracked, I haven't figured out a way to attach it to Hydra agents without them knowing."

"We've decided that face to face contact is the only way to attach it right now" May interjected

"I think I can figure some way around it," Skye said, "But I don't think we have the time. Not knowing certain Hydra agent's locations is a disadvantage and we need to get these operational as soon as possible."

"So we send agents in to plant the device, problem solved" Bobby said

"Not so much" Fitz argued, "It takes an um… a certain amount of, uh, finesse to secure them."

"Finesse isn't really our strong suit" Mack admitted

"So you're saying one of you three will have to be there?" May asked. She already didn't like this plan.

"Unfortunately yes," Jemma sighed, "and I think the choice is obvious." It took a moment for Skye to realize that all eyes were on her. She glanced at her program then at Coulson. She did know it worked better than anyone, and she was better in the field then Fitz or Simmons.

"We'll have to work of the specifics later" Coulson said. It was impossible for Skye to read him. He normally was alright with Skye going out in the field these days, but his opinion of her seemed to change on a daily basis. And with the work schedule she'd been keeping, May was certain to try and talk him out of this, "but first…" the words died on Coulson's lips as he spied movement out of the corner of his eye.

"What'd I miss?" Ward asked, stepping out to face his former team for the first time in months.

A.N: I know, it left off at an awkward place, but I realized that if Ie nded the chapter where I wanted to, it would be way too long. So the result is this weird ending and a shorter 3rd chapter. But all in all, I really like this chapter and the way the story is progressing so far. What do you guys think?


	3. Chapter 3

Ward could feel 8 pairs of eyes trained on him. Some looked afraid, (Fitz and Simmons) and some looked for a fight (pretty much everyone else). But Skye and Coulson, he couldn't get a read on. He didn't like not being in control of his environment and he dint like not knowing how his former best friend felt about him.

Coulson cleared his throat and attempted to break the awkward silence, "Nice of you to join us, Ward"

"Sorry, Sir," he replied, "It's been one hell of a week though"

"I'll excuse it this time," Coulson warned, "But 8 o'clock means 8 o'clock" no one mentioned that the only one actually hear on time had been Skye.

"Understood" Ward said. He leaned back against the lab wall, far enough away that no one should feel uncomfortable, but close enough that he could be an active part of the meeting.

"You were saying, Sir?" Jemma asked, anxious to get on with the meeting and hopefully get her attention off of Ward.

"Yes," Coulson replied as he tried to regain his train of thought, "As I was saying, we haven't worked out the specifics, but I was thinking that we try and corner someone who's relatively unhostile"

"And unhostile Hydra agent?" Bobby laughed

"That would be a new one" Hartely added

"They're not unheard of," Coulson replied, "Some people aren't inherently evil. Some people just got mixed up in it and didn't realize they were on the wrong side until it was too late"

Skye's eyes shot to Ward for a fraction of a second. She thought Ward didn't notice, but Ward noticed everything. As did May. Skye silently cursed the fact that she was surrounded by masters of observation.

"What about Raina?" Skye suggested, "Generally non-lethal and she trusts me to an extent"

"Raina would be ideal" Coulson admitted, "But we don't have her location right now"

"I do," Ward said quietly. Much to his dismay, all eyes were on him again, "She was one of my assignments"

"And you could take us there?" May asked suspiciously

"Absolutely"

"Or he could just give us directions?" Jemma suggested when she saw how uncomfortable Skye looked.

"She's at a safe house in the middle of nowhere," Ward replied, "There's no way you'd be able to find it.

"Fine" Coulson agreed, albeit hesitantly, "Then the field team will be Skye, Bobby, Tripp, Hartely, and Ward. We'll have a tactical meeting at noon. Dismissed"

_Skye's a field agent now? _Ward thought. He knew that Shield has lost more than 40% of its agents in the fall, but to be so desperate to make Skye a full-fledged agent? She was as capable as anyone, but no one would be comfortable on a team with someone who'd never even been to the academy.

"Skye, you stay" Coulson said. She looked around nervously before coming back to the lab table as everyone else exited "I assume you know what I want to speak with you about?"

"Ward" Skye said simply

"I know this is hard for you," he said, "But we need him"

"I already told you that it was okay"

"But you were lying"

"Was not," she sounded childish and she knew it. But all she wanted was for one day to go by on this plane without people tiptoeing around her feelings. Yes, she and Ward had been close, but they weren't anymore. End of story.

"Skye," he said, "I just worry he'll distract you in the field."

"Well he won't," Skye snapped, then added apologetically, "I'm sorry, sir"

"I understand" Coulson replied, "I don't like him either. But we need Raina and we need your program put to use."

"Yes, sir," Skye replied, trying to give him her most reassuring smile

"I'll see you in a few hours then" Coulson said. He didn't look completely convinced, but he hadn't taken her off the mission either. Skye gave him a final nod then left the lab.

Maybe there was some way she could make this work before noon and there'd be no need to do this at all. Maybe there was something she overlooked on her dozens of self-checks maybe-

She was interrupted by a body slamming into hers, "Watch it," she grunted, even though in reality it had been her who hadn't been looking where she was going. It took her a little bit longer than she would have liked to regain her balance; she blamed it on the sleep deprivation.

"Sorry" her accidental assailant replied. Ward. Of course, this was just what she needed right now.

"Don't worry about it," she mumbled as she attempted to slide past him, but an arm darted out in front of her chest preventing her from escaping, "Grant," she warned.

"I just wanted to talk to you," Ward said as calmly as he could.

"Life is full of disappointments," she said. She took a moment to examine her surroundings. The hallway was narrow She _should _be able to dart under him if it came to a fight, but Ward was so much stronger and faster than her. It probably wouldn't be that much of a challenge for him to physically restrain her.

Ward lowered his arm in an attempt to make the meeting less confrontational. Skye had been making a strategy in her mind the second she had realized it was him. Ward was both disappointed and impressed to see her cold, calculated expression. She didn't even trust him enough to let her guard down on a plane full of armed agents "Can't you just pretend not to despise me for a second?" he asked, a hint of anger creeping into his voice. Skye crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly. Now that he had her attention, Ward wasn't sure if he really wanted to tell her this, "When I was undercover in Hydra," he began, "Whitehall kept talking about this thing."

"A thing?" Skye asked, "What kind of thing?"

"He called it the Diviner," Ward continued, "And I have no idea what it is, but whenever he talked about it, he'd talk about you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, he was very interested in you. I don't know if he was trying to get under my skin, or if he was feeding me false information but… I just thought you should know"

Skye let the comment about how it got under his skin pass. She didn't need him manipulating her into thinking he actually cared about her "You should tell Coulson," Skye said as she eye him uncertainly. She couldn't decide if he was actually telling the truth or not. Why would he lie to her about something like this? Did he want her off the mission? Was there a reason he didn't want her seeing Raina.

"I thought I should tell you first," Ward replied, "And just be prepared in case he's there when we get Raina"

"Why would he be with Raina?"

"He took a special interest in her too. Whatever this Diviner thing is, you're both mixed up in it. I don't want you to be in more danger than you already are"

"Why are you telling me this, Ward?"

"Because there's something I want to tell you," Ward replied, "But I need to make sure that you'll believe me when I do"

A.N: So now we're getting more into season 2 stuff with the Diviner and Skye's father. Please review, guys, I'm getting really into this one and I'd love to improve it.


	4. Chapter 4

A.N Merry Christmas! So I made a few edits to chapters 2 and 3 so the include Hartely now. Nothing too major, so you don't have to reread anything if you don't want to. This chapter started out as nothing, but I think it's my favorite so far. Enjoy :)

Skye sat in her bunk and tried to keep her mind off what Ward had said to her, but every time she began working on her program, his words came back. Skye was used to danger; there'd been people after her her whole life. She shouldn't be afraid of Whitehall. But this was Hydra; they had the resources that others hadn't. If anyone was going to succeed in killing her, it would be Hydra.

Not to mention whatever Ward wanted to tell her. His words had seemed sincere, but Ward had to be an idiot if he really thought Skye would believe anything he said after all that had happened. It would be the very coldest day in hell before she started trusting Grant Ward again.

She shook her head and tried not to think about it. She needed her head in the game for this mission. If she succeeded in marking Raina, who knew what doors it would open up? It could even lead to a full scale invasion of Hydra.

But she wouldn't succeed in marking Raina if she couldn't get this damn program to work. Fitz had been a godsend when she needed major help, but she should be able to work out the last minor bugs on her own. So why couldn't she?

Skye didn't need to imagine what May would say if she knew. May was certain that Skye would crash one day from sleep deprivation, maybe not being able to work out issues in a fairly simple program was the first step in her downward spiral. She took another sip of coffee and focused on her computer. Now was not the time for her to be second guessing herself.

"Can I come in for a moment" someone asked standing right outside her door. Skye shut her laptop and got up to unlock it.

"Jemma" Skye breathed. She was just relieved that it wasn't May or Ward. Or even Coulson at this point.

"May I come in?" she asked. When Skye hesitated, she held out the cup of tea in her hand as an offering, "I came with gifts"

Skye couldn't help but smile as she took the cup, "Thanks, Jemma" Skye replied as she sat back down on her bed, leaving her door open for the scientist to follow. Jemma stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

"What's up?" Skye asked

"We haven't talked in a while" Jemma said. She sounded nervous

"You mean we haven't talked since Ward came back"

Jemma nodded. She wasn't sure what she could say since even hearing his name made her irrationally terrified.

"We don't have to, Jemma" Skye said comfortingly

"We should though" Jemma said, "Since he's going to be a permanent part of our lives again"

"I wouldn't bet on that," Skye said under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing" Skye said quickly, "Ignore me"

"You're not planning on killing him, are you?" Jemma asked. She was only half joking. To Jemma's knowledge, Skye had never killed anyone before, but if anyone was likely to be her first victim, it was Ward.

"No, Jemma," Skye replied, "You know I'm non-lethal"

"Yes," Jemma said, mostly to comfort herself. Jemma took great solace in knowing that there was someone else on this plane that was somewhat normal. But if Skye became like every other Shield agent… Jemma couldn't help but think that she'd no longer be Skye.

"Besides," Skye said, "If Fitz didn't have to reequip my Icer after every mission, what else would he do?"

"That's not funny, Skye" Jemma scolded, but there was a smile that Jemma couldn't hide. She had been so worried about Skye after the Fall. The Hacker had confined herself to her bunk almost 24/7 for weeks. Jemma was just about to put her under psychiatric watch, but May had beaten her to the punch.

But now… the nightmares had seemed to stop. And though Skye still wasn't sleeping enough, she seemed to be on the mend. She was as alright as a Shield agent could be, and for that Jemma was grateful.

"Wait," Jemma said, "So if you're not going to kill Ward, why would he leave?"

Skye groaned. She was hoping that Jemma would just let it go. She didn't want to have to explain the ultimatum she had given Ward, "I just…" Skye began, "I don't know if you want to hear it"

"Why wouldn't I?" Jemma asked.

"Because I know you don't like to talk about it," she replied quietly.

"Skye, you're making me nervous"

"He asked for my forgiveness," Skye said suddenly

"What? What did you say?"

"I wasn't sure what I could say," Skye said, "It's weird that I don't really care about who he's killed. I…I can't see them as more than just a number. Even Victoria, I didn't like her and she didn't like me. But she was still a person and I should be disgusted that he murdered her, but I'm not."

"It makes sense, Skye" Jemma said, "You've been with Shield for a while; you're starting to normalize violence. Every agent you've ever met has killed someone; it's a part of the job. Ward isn't different."

"But he killed some of the good guys"

"You know not every Shield agent is good. They weren't good guys in his mind," Jemma replied, "I know it's difficult to understand, but the way he was raised… he doesn't understand the value of life like we do. It's not an excuse for his actions; it's just the way it is."

"Then what about what he did to you?" Skye asked, "How can I forgive that?"

"Is that was this is about?" Jemma said, "It was a horrible experience Skye, but it happened months ago."

"You've just forgotten about?"

"No, of course not," she replied, "But I can't live my life thinking about one horrible thing that's happened to me."

"I know," Skye said, "But… I told him… that I can't forgive him unless you and Fitz did"

"Skye…" Jemma said slowly, "You can't be angry on my behalf"

"But I am," She groaned, "and I know that he had a shitty childhood, and I really do believe that no one is entirely evil. But it's hard to keep thinking that when he tried to kill my best friend."

"Would it help if I said I don't think he was actually trying to kill us?"

"He dropped you in the ocean, Jemma," Skye would have laughed if she hadn't been talking about murder.

"Think about it, Skye," she urged, "If he'd wanted us dead, he could have put two bullets in our heads."

"And if he wanted you alive, he would have let you escaped," she countered.

"He gave us a fighting chance," Jemma insisted, "He had to follow orders; Garrett would have known if he'd let us go. He believed that we'd find a way out and we did"

"Barely"

"Barely was all we needed."

"Have…" Skye swallowed, "Have you forgiven him?"

"I don't know," Jemma admitted, "I don't know if forgiveness is the right word for it. But I think I understand it."

"He doesn't belong here," Skye insisted.

"Maybe not," She agreed, "But he certainly doesn't belong with Hydra." Jemma could see that she was starting to get through to Skye, so she continued, "And isn't better that he has a chance with us?"

"I don't know," She replied. Everything was getting confusing. Well, more confusing than normal. It had been so much easier if Skye could just hate him, but she couldn't. She knew too much about him to just accept that he was straight up evil. When he wasn't here, Skye could pretend that he had just lied to her about everything. But now… now she could see the sincerity in his eyes whenever he talked to her. He was a good liar, but not good enough that he could fully deceive her, "I don't know what to think," she sighed. This was exactly what Skye didn't need before a mission. She'd be trapped with Ward for at least a few hours, and she didn't need to be second guessing herself at every turn.

"What about you, Skye," Jemma asked, hitting yet another topic that Skye hadn't wanted to discuss, "I know he didn't physically hurt her, but you were the closest to him."

"I don't know," Skye said. She knew that talking to Jemma would probably help. She hadn't really confided in anyone since she was forced to talk to a Shield psychiatrist, and even then she had only shared the bare minimum to get her out of therapy, "It wouldn't have been as bad if…" she stopped herself before she finished the sentence.

"If what?" Jemma prodded, "Skye, talking helps."

"If he hadn't kissed me, okay" she said quietly.

"He kissed you?" Jemma asked. She looked at Skye sympathetically. It was no secret that Ward had liked her, almost everyone knew that Ward had a soft spot for her. But she never imagined that Ward would ever act on those feelings. And then to betray them a moment later… Skye had had a worse time than anyone had realized.

"Just once," she replied as if that made it better, "And I guess it didn't really mean anything to him"

"But it meant something to you."

"Of course it did," Skye could feel tears filling her eyes. She hated crying, especially in front of other people. But if there was anyone she was okay with being vulnerable in front of, it was Jemma.

Jemma pulled her into a tight embrace, "I'm so sorry, Skye," she said as she rubbed Skye's back soothingly, "I had no idea."

"How could you have?" Skye replied, "I never told anyone."

"I should've been able to tell. That's what best friends do."

Skye hugged Jemma tighter as sobs wracked her body. She hadn't allowed herself relief like this since she had found out about her parents. It had been so long since she'd trusted someone to see her like this.

Jemma just let Skye cry in her arms. She hadn't really had friends other than Fitz, but she was sure that this is what friends did. They let each other just cry. She didn't speak until Skye's breathing returned to normal and she stopped feeling Skye's tears soak into her shirt.

"Skye?" she asked.

Skye gently pushed Jemma's arms away from her, "It's almost noon," she said simply.

"You don't have to go," Jemma said, "I can tell them you're ill"

"No," Skye said, "I have to go. People are counting on me."

"But you need to take care of yourself."  
>"I will when I get back." She said, "I promise"<p>

Jemma frowned at Skye, but she knew there was nothing she could say that would stop her. As Skye gathered her supplies, Jemma just looked at her.

"What are you thinking about?" Jemma asked as Skye opened her door.

"That no matter how many times I get abandoned," she smiled sadly, "It still fucking hurts"

A.N Maybe as a present, if I get a couple reviews, I'll post another chapter tomorrow. Happy Holidays, Friends


	5. Chapter 5

A.N. As promised, another chapter today. Merry Christmas everyone!

Ward didn't mean to eavesdrop. He really didn't. It was getting close to noon, and he wanted to make sure that Skye got to the meeting on time. He had no idea that she was with Simmons, and he definitely didn't know that they were talking about him. But once he heard his name, he couldn't leave. Even if their words were the hateful ones he had expected, he needed to hear them. People lied to his face all the time, but he could trust what Simmons and Skye said to each other.

He thought he was prepared for whatever awful things they would say about him. But he wasn't prepared for her to start crying. Crying because of what he'd done. He'd known that he'd hurt her. But… he guessed he'd never really thought about the extent. But this was a painful reminder that not everyone could just swallow their pain and keep going. And then he'd had the nerve to ask for forgiveness after that.

He was shocked to find that his own eyes were filling up with tears as he heard Skye sob. She thought the kiss hadn't meant anything to him. She thought he'd done it to manipulate her. She thought she was just another stumbling block in his mission to infiltrate Shield.

It wasn't until the door was already open that he realized she was going to come out and catch him red handed. He looked around anxiously for a place to hide, but there was nowhere except the bunk next to hers, and he didn't even know who it belonged to. He gave another glance at the door. He could see her shadow moving closer to him. He swore under his breath before opening the unknown door.

"Hey what're you-" came an all too familiar voice. And one he didn't really want to hear right now. Ward knew he'd have to talk to Fitz eventually, but now was not the time.

"Be quiet," Ward hissed. He turned back to the scientist and winced at the scared look he had on his face, "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Then what are you doing here?" Fitz whispered.

"Skye's out there?"

"And?" Fitz asked, "I thought you'd jump at the chance to talk to her."

"Normally I would," Ward admitted, "But she'd with Simmons"

"Oh," Fitz said with realization, "You were eavesdropping"

"Not on purpose," He insisted.

"But they had to be talking about something, um, personal for you to be hiding"

"Yes," Ward groaned, "Just let me stay here for five minutes, then I'll be out of here."

"Five minutes," Fitz agreed. Neither was sure what to say and no one wanted to mention the elephant in the room. Ward couldn't help but take it was a good sign that Fitz hadn't ran away screaming, and after what he'd overheard Jemma say, he was feeling a bit more confident about this whole situation.

"I know this isn't the best time," Ward said, finally finding the tension unbearable, "But I'm sorry"

"For, um, trying to kill me?" Fitz said bitterly, "Yeah, n-no problem"

"Fitz," Ward said.

"No, Ward, uh, there's um… been a lot, I've uh, wanted to say to you," Fitz stammered, "But I, uh, can't remember any of it now. I don't think you understand how bad it is to, um, be without oxygen for an extended period."

"No, I don't" Ward admitted.

"So you don't know exactly what you did."

"No, I suppose I don't"

"So you can't apologize for something when you, uh, don't know what you did."

"So I take it you're not accepting my apology"

"I'm not recognizing it," Fitz said coldly, "Lose a good portion of your ability to function, then we can talk"

Ward hung his head. He didn't know what he expected, but Fitz was right. He _didn't _really know what he'd done. Ward had been in some pretty bad situations before, but being in a confined space with limited oxygen hadn't been one of them. But Jemma had hit the nail on the head, if Garrett had found out Fitzsimmons were still alive, he would have just hunted them down himself. Ward had done what was best at the time. He had picked the lesser of two evils, and everyone had made it out alive because of it.

"You five minutes are up," Fitz said coldly. His tone made it clear that there would be no point in continuing the conversation.

"Thank you," Ward said formally before leaving the small room. He took a look around the hallway to make sure he was really alone before he shut the door behind him. He made his way back to the lab. It was still about ten minutes to noon and he was the first one here.

Ward took a moment to try and put his thoughts in order. Raina wasn't exactly dangerous, but if anything went wrong, Skye was going to be the victim and Ward couldn't let her get hurt.

"Damn it," a small voice whispered, "Just who I didn't want to see"

Ward turned around slowly, knowing exactly what would greet him. She had someone fixed her hair and makeup in the 10 minutes since he'd seen her. If Ward hadn't witnessed it, he wouldn't have known she had just completely broken down. She was learning to push her feelings aside for the sake of a mission. It made him sad that she was probably destroying herself to become a real agent.

"I can try and get out of this mission if you don't want me there," he said.

"No," she replied, "You were right. We probably can't find the safe house on our own"

Skye sat down on the opposite side of the table and pulled out her lap top. She didn't make eye contact, she didn't speak to him. She tried her best to pretend that he wasn't even there. But she couldn't fool Ward into believing that she really wasn't feeling anything.

"I hated you, y'know" she said, not looking away from her computer.

"Past tense?"  
>"Yeah, past tense" she murmured, "I think I could hate you because I'd created my own version of you in mind. A person who drowned kittens and stole from babies."<p>

She finally raised her eyes from her computer and looked at him, "But I talked with Jemma," Skye said softly, "And she made me realize that I couldn't hate you."

"Really?" Ward replied, feigning ignorance.  
>"Yeah, I hate what you did," Skye said, "But no matter how much I want to, I can't hate you."<p>

"Why are you saying this now?"

"Because I want to know where we stand before we have our lives in each other's hands again."

"Fair enough" he said.

"So your turn."

"What?"

"I told you how I feel, now you tell me," she said seriously, "It's only fair."  
>"I've never been good at sharing, Skye," he begged,<p>

"Well tough shit," she replied. She was so different from the naïve girl he'd left behind, "Because you're going to have the opportunity to kill me at any time tomorrow, and I can't concentrate as long as I'm worrying that you'll take it."

"You think I'd kill you?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't know what I think anymore," she shrugged.

"Fine," he huffed, "You want the truth? I almost left Garrett before Shield. He was better than the family I had, so I thought he was the best family I could get. But then I met you and the rest of the team and I realized how family really acted. But I was afraid that you'd all reject me if I told you what I really was, so I rejected you before you could. And now I'm willing to do anything to get that family back, even if it means sacrificing myself for any one of you"

He stared at her and judged her reaction. She had become a master at hiding her emotions in the months since his betrayal, and he had no idea what she was thinking.

"Okay," she said simply before returning to her work.

"Okay?" he replied, he almost laughed, "I pour my heart out to you, and all you can say is 'okay'?"

She clicked her tongue, "What, it doesn't feel good to make yourself vulnerable only to be pushed aside?"

Ward stared at her with his mouth gaping open. She was so freaking irritating and hurtful and… "Point taken" he said quietly, "So that's it then?"

"What else do you want me to say, Grant?" she asked, "I wanted to know where we stood, and now I do"

"Why do you keep calling me Grant?"  
>"Last time I checked it was your name"<p>

"Yeah, but you always used to call me Ward"  
>"Because Ward was my friend and someone I trusted," she said. She said the words too casually considering that it was killing him to hear them, "You're not that person anymore, so you're not Ward."<p>

"Maybe I can become him again," Ward said mostly to himself.

She laughed bitterly, "You can't" she said, "You can't be the person I thought you were, but you can still be a good man."

"A man that can go back to being your friend?"

"Let's see how this mission goes, then we can discuss it," she said, "Because I'm still not positive you won't shoot me while I have my back turned."

"You've become paranoid."

"Do you blame me?" Skye asked.

He really couldn't. He'd made her what she was. Whatever bitter, disillusioned, un-Skye like creature was before him, he was responsible for creating. And it killed him to realize that he'd destroyed the one thing he truly loved.

Skye could see people walking towards the lab out of the corner of her eye, "For what it's worth," she said quietly, "I do still believe that people are worth second chances."

She returned to her computer before Ward could respond. As the rest of the team entered the lab, he was left wondering if maybe not all of Skye had been destroyed.

A.N. so this has been another one of my favorite ones to write. Tell me what y'all think


	6. Chapter 6

To say May was apprehensive was an insane understatement. She was worried Coulson was wrong about Skye's improvement. She was scared that Coulson was wrong about Ward. And she was absolutely terrified that Skye would die because of it. Not that she allowed any of it to show through her cold unfeeling exterior, of course. But it was with great apprehension that she walked back into the lab with Coulson on her heels.

She almost stopped when she saw that Ward and Skye were already there. And they appeared to have been talking for a while, judging by how they were both leaning across the table and speaking in hushed tones. She was afraid for a moment that Ward was somehow manipulating her, but it only took one look at their faces to see that Skye was completely in charge of the situation. May couldn't help but smirk at how her girl had somehow gotten Ward wrapped around her finger in less than a day. It didn't completely put her fears to rest, but it did help.

Skye glanced over at May and leaned back in her chair. Skye knew what May had witnessed. Ward wasn't the only one good at emotional manipulation, and she was intent on showing that to her SO.

"You're here early," Coulson said, seemingly oblivious to all that had passed between May, Skye, and Ward with a few looks. But May knew that Coulson had seen it too and that he was feeling the same pride in Skye that she was.

"I was just getting some things in order" Skye said casually as she returned her attention to her laptop. Once again, Ward was left to just stare at her and wonder just where Skye had learned how to mentally disarm him. He wasn't used to her being nonchalant with him, and he knew his discomfort was exactly what she wanted. He hated that he couldn't stop himself from wanting to make her notice him. He hated that he was playing into her hands and he wasn't even trying to stop it. When did she get so damn good at making him feel like nothing?

"And you Ward," Melinda asked as she cracked a rare smile.

"Um… nothing else to do" was his weak excuse. Coulson let out a small chuckle.

"As long as you're both here," Coulson said, "Ward might as well start talking."

A.N I know it's a short one, but the next one is long enough to make up for it

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Skye asked.

"Right behind you," Bobby said as she entered the lab just after Tripp and Hartley.

"Let's get started," May said, "Skye, can you give a more in depth explanation of your tracker."

"Of course," the hacker smiled. She was back in her element and talking about her own inventions. She grabbed the flash drive like device out of her computer and held it up. She carefully pulled it apart and showed of the silver head as she plugged the tail back into her computer.

"Sorry, but does that thing have legs?" Tripp asked.

"You can thank Fitz for that one, "Skye beamed. She set it down on the table and typed a few commands into her computer. A few moments later, the thing began crawling up Bobby's arm.

"What the hell?" she yelled as she began swatting at the tracker.

"I'm trying to demonstrate something," Skye said as she continued typing. The chip kept crawling around Bobby's skin as she tried to fight the urged to destroy, "there…we…go" with a final flourishing click, the chip implanted itself into Bobby's skin with a small suctioning noise. In mere moments, the thing seemed to disappear. Skye smiled at everyone's dumbfounded faces, "Yeah, I'm good" she smirked.

"I'm lost," Tripp admitted, "What the hell just happened?"

"Advanced robotics and cloaking, my friend," Skye laughed, "It implants itself into the skin painlessly and undetectably."

"No way," bobby said, "No way that thing is somewhere inside me without me knowing."

"But it is," Skye insisted, "and if you hadn't seen me put it on you, you could be tracked unknowingly for months."

"That is creepy," Hartley muttered.

"But effective," Skye tapped on her keyboard some more and a few seconds later, the tracker reappeared on Bobby's other arm. She swatted the thing back on the table with a mixed look of disgust and admiration, "and just like that, I can control it from my laptop"

"Question," Ward said, "If you need your laptop to control it, won't Raina notice that you're doing something?"

"I won't be the one controlling it. Fitz will from here."

"And you're sure Raina won't notice?" Bobby asked.

"No," Skye admitted, "but I'm fairly confident that she won't be focusing me once I get her talking."

"And you're certain you can get her talking?"

"If I know anything about Raina," Skye said, "It's that she always has new information that she's itching to share"


	7. Chapter 7

They had been hiking for hours, and yet they still didn't seem any closer to their destination. It had been all day of straight uphill, yet Skye seemed to be the only one in any pain. She knew that Shield agents were practically superhuman, but _come on_. For the hundredth time that afternoon, Skye bit back her complaining so she wouldn't sound weak and childish.

Ward could barely go a few feet without glancing back to make sure she was keeping up. It was his old instinct as her SO creeping back up. He had to make sure she was doing alright. She wasn't trained for this. He and the others could so this all day, but he could tell she was getting tired.

"We should stop for water," Ward said suddenly. He pulled out his bottle and handed it to Skye.

"We're almost there," Hartley said, "We should just power through"

"It's still completely uphill," Ward insisted, "We need to regain our strength.

Skye gave him a thankful look before she began greedily drinking the water. She allowed herself to catch her breath for the first time all day.

"Five minutes," Bobby said, "We want to be back before nightfall"

Skye nearly audibly groaned. How could these people do it? It wasn't the first time she'd felt out of her league at Shield, but now she was expected to actually be useful, and she could barely take another step without collapsing.

"Time to go," Bobby said callously as she began climbing again. Skye sighed and followed, trying to put her pain aside for the last few miles.

Skye wiped the beads of sweat off of her forehead as the cabin came into sight. Ward hadn't been exaggerating when he said it was in the middle of nowhere. She hoped the communicator would work from here. If she couldn't talk to Fitz, none of this would work.

"Very tranquil," Bobby said approvingly.

"Very Raina," Skye added. A cabin in woods. Just enough melodrama for the "Girl in the Flower Dress."

"Come on," Ward said, "The sooner we go in, the sooner we can go home."

The other agents just nodded and followed Ward to the door. He knocked twice, paused then knocked again. A few moments later, the door opened a fraction of an inch

"Agent Ward?" A voice asked. Raina.

_And company, _Skye thought, but she bit her tongue as Ward slipped inside. He gave the others a look that said _wait until I get you_ before closing the door behind him. Skye crossed her arms and waited. Patience was not one of her virtues, and as the minutes passed, she began to grow uneasy. Ward should have come back by now. Where the hell was he? Skye tried to push back her feelings of worry. She didn't care about him, only about the mission. She knew they were lies even as she thought them.

"We should go in," Skye said suddenly

"Ward said to wait," Bobby replied.

"It's been almost ten minutes," Skye insisted

"We'll give him five more," Hartley said.

Skye groaned and returned to tapping her foot, "It's been five minutes," Skye said. It had probably only been three, but she was becoming apprehensive.

"Calm down, Skye," Tripp said soothingly

"I'm not calm, can we please go inside?" she said, not even trying to hide her exasperation.

"She's right," Bobby said, "He should have come out by now"

"Do you think something's wrong?" Hartley asked

"Not sure," Bobby replied, "But if things went south, he should have at least been able to signal us.

"Oh god," Skye moaned. Of course this was going wrong. Everything involving Ward always went wrong.

"Are we going in then?" Tripp asked

"I'm not sure we have a choice" Bobby admitted.

"On three?"

"On three," Bobby agreed, "One, two, thr-"

The door opened just as they were about to storm in. Ward didn't look like he was hurt, but he seemed shaken.

"You guys can come in," he said, Skye couldn't get a read on him. Raina wasn't normally dangerous on her own. Was there someone here with her? Skye tried to push back the feeling of dread in her stomach as she walked inside. She placed her hand on the gun on her belt just in case this went bad.

It was a fairly normal looking cabin, like somewhere you'd go on a Boy Scout camping trip. Of course, she had added her own little Raina flairs to it. Vases of flowers on every table and a few expensive looking rugs. There was no doubt Raina had been staying here.

"Where is she?" Skye asked.

"In the living room," he sounded apprehensive.

"Grant…" Skye said slowly, "What are you not telling us?"

"Just be careful" was all he said before leaving the other four to follow him. Skye glanced at Bobby for confirmation before following Ward into the living room.

Raina was there, just like he said she was. And she appeared to be alone. So why was Ward so damn nervous, "Target is in sight, prepare to begin," Skye whispered to Fitz, who was hopefully on the other end of her earpiece before she fully entered the room.

"Skye," Raina said. Was it Skye's imagination, or did she sound excited? Skye shook her head. Raina always had something up her sleeve, she couldn't let Raina's surprisingly cheerful mood get to her.

"Raina," Skye said coldly. She touched her gun again, finding comfort in the fact that she had a way to protect herself.

"Sit down," Raina said. Skye glanced at Ward before sitting on the couch across from Raina, "Just Skye," Raina said as the others moved to join her.

They all looked at Skye, but stayed where they stood. Skye handed the tracker to Ward as discreetly as she could. Raina was about to start talking and it was the perfect opportunity. Ward didn't look happy about having to move away from Skye, but he understood that this was what needed to be done.

"I'm going to check the perimeter," Ward said, "Five Shield agents on the move won't go unnoticed by Hydra"

"So you're back with Shield now, Grant?" Raina asked

Skye nearly cringed at the sickening familiarity of using his first name. How much time did they spend together after the fall? She didn't care, Skye told herself. She didn't care that Raina considered him to be a friend. She only cared about leaving and getting back to where she was relatively safe.

"I never really left," Ward said before exiting the room. But just as he passed behind Raina, Skye saw him place the tracker on her shoulder.

"Why did you come?" Raina asked, "Are you going to arrest me?"

"Have you committed a crime?" Skye asked.

"Shield's always wanted me," Raina said, "Even when I'd done nothing wrong."

"Stall," Fitz said over the earpiece, "We're having some connection issues."

Skye silently cursed. She didn't want to stay out here longer than she had to, especially with Ward out of her sight.

"So you think nothing was wrong about working with Centipede?" Skye asked.

"I left when I realized something was off, if you'll recall"

"It wasn't soon enough," Skye replied

"No," she admitted, "But I couldn't have done anything to stop it."

Skye didn't really have a retort for that. The others seemed to realize that Raina would only respond to Skye, so they stood back and kept a careful watch in case things got dangerous. Skye wasn't sure if she was thankful or not for their complacency.

"So then why are you here?" Raina asked.

"Information," Skye replied after a moment. Now she was just making things up.

"On what?" She asked, "Hydra? Because I believe Agent Ward could supply you with more than enough"

"The Diviner," Skye said quickly, "Tell me about the Diviner."

The question gave Raina enough pause that Skye knew she'd asked the right question. She knew that she could keep Raina distracted enough with this one to keep her occupied for however long Fitz needed.

"I can't," Raina said as she leaned in closer to Skye, "Not with them here."

"Why?" Skye asked.

"It doesn't concern them," Raina said

"But it concerns me?"

"Yes"

"And it concerns you?"

"Yes"

Skye looked between Raina and the rest of her team and weighed her options. She wasn't very keen to send away her main sources of protection, but she would be lying if she said that this Diviner thing didn't have her curious.

"Oh not a chance in hell," Tripp said reading Skye's mind.

"Guys…" Skye said.

"Out of the question," Bobby said.

Skye stood up, "Can I have a word with my team, Raina?" Skye asked. Skye never thought she'd see the day where she asked Raina's permission for anything, yet she waited for a nod before she left the room, the 4 other agents in tow.

"And Skye," Raina said, "If you do come back, leave your communicator and gun with them."

Skye kept walking until she was sure they were out of Raina's earshot, "Let me talk to her," Skye said before anyone else could speak.

"No," Bobby replied, "Not without a gun."

"I can buy us time," Skye insisted, "and Raina trusts me."

"Bullshit," Tripp said, "You juts wanna know about whatever this Diviner thing is."

"I do want to know," Skye admitted, "But we can't leave without knowing the tracker is operational."

"She's right," Said Hartley, who had been uncharacteristically silent since they entered the house, "And whatever information she's got has to be useful if Hydra is keeping her safe."

"Thank you," Skye said.

Bobby and Tripp looked at each other before Bobby said, "Fine, you have ten minutes, then we're coming back in."

"No," Skye said as she took out her ear piece and handed it to the agent, "You wait until Fitz tells you everything is clear."

"You are pushing your luck," Bobby warned.

"Raina won't hurt me," Skye insisted.

"One sign of trouble and we come back in there guns blazing," Tripp warned

"I expect nothing less." Skye took a deep breath before handing her gun to Tripp and turning her back on her team.

"Ward is going to be so pissed," Tripp muttered as Skye closed the door behind her

Skye tried to walk as casually as she could. She didn't want Raina to know how nervous she actually was. Skye was used to things not going according to plan, but she wasn't used to pulling cover stories completely out of her ass. She'd really screwed herself over with this one, one wrong move and she was going to end up dead. Or worse, a captive of Hydra.

"You're back," Raina said.

"You sound surprised,"

"I am," Raina replied, "I never thought you'd hide something from your team."

"I'm not hiding anything from them," Skye said, "The moment I leave; they're going to know everything."

"You won't want to tell them everything, Skye," Raina insisted.

"Why don't you start talking then I can decide that."

"What do you already know about the Diviner?"

"Nothing really," Skye said, "Just that you and I are mixed up in it."

"Garrett's carvings," Raina said suddenly, "Do you know anything about those?"

"Um… just that he did them," Skye said, "Why?"

"They're related," Raina said, "The carvings are a map, Skye."

"A map to where?" Skye asked suspiciously

"A special place that only the Diviner can lead to."

"I'm really confused, Raina," Skye admitted. The more she spoke, the less sense she made. And the more Skye wondered why she had to be alone to hear this.

"I have the Diviner," Raina said.

"You have it?"

Raina looked at the door apprehensively, "You can't tell them, Skye."

"Why not."

"They'll make me give it to them," Raina said, "And then Hydra will come after you."

"Hydra is already after us," Skye said, "Try again"

"They can't touch it, Skye," Raina said, "Not without dying."

"And now I'm even more confused."

"Only certain special people can touch it."

"Like you?"

"And you," Raina replied before adding, "I think"

"So you expect me to lie to my family because you suspect that I'm a special person who can touch a mysterious object that leads to some weird ass city? Okay, sure"

Skye almost laughed. This whole situation was ridiculous. Skye had seen some weird shit since joining Shield, but this was too much. She should have known better than to trust Raina.

"The thing about fact, "Raina said slowly, "Is that it's true whether you believe it or not." Raina got up and walked over to the mantel hanging over a rustic fireplace. She grabbed a small decorative box and brought it back and placed it on the coffee table between Skye and the chair as was sitting in before, "But if you don't believe me, you can touch it and see for yourself."

Raina carefully lifted the lid to reveal a silver, oddly shaped object. Skye knew this must be the Diviner. She wasn't sure how she knew exactly, just that she did. Skye's first instinct was to touch it, to see if Raina was right about her. The Diviner seemed to be calling to her, drawing her in. Skye's hand subconsciously moved until it was hovering over the box.

Her skin was about to make contact when she heard a loud crash just outside the door, "No," she said as she drew her hand away, "I'm not risking my life to prove your theory."

"Fair enough," Raina said, "But you might not another chance for a while."

"You're running away," Skye said. It wasn't a question; Raina's intent was painted on her face. She was going to leave and see how long she could hide from Shield and Hydra.

"And you're not going to look for me," Raina said knowingly

"And why's that?" Skye asked.  
>"Because you and I are the only known people who can hold the Diviner," Raina said casually, "If you imprison me, it will only put a bigger target on your back."<p>

"I'm used to having a target on my back."

"Not one like this," Raina said, "Whitehall will stop at nothing to get you. He'll kill your entire team for it. You might not care about your own life, but I know you'll do anything to protect theirs."

"You think you know me pretty well, huh?" Skye bluffed.

"I do," Raina said, "But if that isn't enough to convince you, I have more."

"Oh?" Skye said.

"If I'm in prison, who will take you to meet your father?"

A.N so I actually ended up really liking this one in the end, especially the parts with Raina.


	8. Chapter 8

_Skye's father is coming, _Raina had said, _He's coming for the Diviner. _She'd told Ward that he would be here any minute. Ward wasn't sure he should believe her, but he'd rather not take the chance of Cal coming in and taking Skye. Ward had only met the man a few times, but he could tell that Skye's father was irrational; the loss of both his wife and his daughter had probably driven him insane.

Skye needed to know that he was still alive, and someday she needed to meet him, but today was not that day. That day would not come until Skye was ready for it, Ward vowed as he checked the surrounding area to make sure he wasn't here yet. Ward didn't now how long it would take to activate the tracker, but they needed to be out of there soon.

Ward didn't want to leave her with Raina. Hell, he didn't want to leave her _anywhere _right now, but her father was a bigger threat than the former Centipede worker. Ward wasn't sure that Skye trusted him yet, but after this he needed to tell her about her father whether she was ready to hear it or not.

When he was satisfied that no one was close enough to the cabin to interfere, he quickly walked back to the house. But he was met with three agents in the entry hall and no sight of Skye.

"What-" Ward asked, but was quickly shushed by Hartley, "What's going on? Where's Skye?" he whispered.

"There was some problems with the tracker and we needed time," Bobby began, "And Raina would only talk to Skye."

"You left here in there alone!" Ward asked, it took great self-control for him to maintain his whisper.

"She's not dangerous, Ward," Tripp said. It was then that Ward glanced down and noticed that Trip had two guns and Bobby held her earpiece

"You let her go in alone with no weapon and no form of communication?" Ward asked. He was getting angry; he could feel the familiar rage building up inside of him. He hadn't felt it since Quinn had shot Skye, and he had believed he would never feel it again.

"Raina won't hurt her," Bobby said. _No, _Ward thought, _Raina won't. _But Skye's father… that was a different story. Cal wouldn't hurt her at first, but if he lost his temper… Ward didn't want to think about it. But he couldn't just go storming in there, that would ruin everything.

Ward took the tracker from Bobby and held it up to his mouth, "How much longer do you need?" Ward asked

"I'm not sure," Fitz said, "This shouldn't be happening at all"

Ward groaned and leaned against the wall, if Fitz didn't have a solution no one would.

"We have time," Tripp said, half to Fitz and half to Ward, "Raina looked like she had plenty to say."

"What are they talking about?" Ward asked

"Something called a Diviner." Hartley replied

"The Diviner?" Ward said.

"You know it?" Bobby asked.

"I know of it," Ward replied.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure," Ward said, "All I know is that it's powerful and dangerous."

"And Skye is right in the middle of it," Bobby said, vocalizing what everyone was thinking.

"Did you tell Coulson about it?" Trip asked.

"He never asked, and I didn't think it was a priority yet."

"Well it just became one," Hartley said, "And don't think we're going to lie."

"I'm not asking you to," Ward said.

"Can you shut up?" Tripp snapped, "I'm trying to hear what they're saying."

"Don't bother," Ward said, "Every room in the house has been sound proofed."

"You sure know an awful lot about this place" Hartley said.

"I should, considering I lived here," Ward said curtly. Yet he still tried in vain to hear Skye's voice. Ward couldn't even guess what Raina was telling Skye. He had never seen the Diviner in action, but Ward had heard enough about it to know it was bad news.

He had heard whispers of its abilities around Hydra's headquarters, about how no one could actually touch it. Except Raina, apparently. And maybe…

"She's going to touch the Diviner" Ward said, mostly to himself.

"What?" Bobby asked

"I need to go in," Ward said as he drew his gun. Raina might be right about Skye being able to hold it, but Ward really, _really _didn't want to test it.

"What? No," Tripp said as he grabbed Ward's arm. Ward's instincts made him nearly hit Tripp, but he figured that would not be his best course of action right now. Instead he took a deep breath and began to calmly explain.

"Skye is in danger," Ward said. He wasn't sure how he was keeping his cool right now, but he was and he physically needed to make the others understand.

"Not a good enough explanation," Hartley said. Ward nearly groaned in frustration. He got that no one liked or trusted him, but when someone said a team member was in danger, didn't Ward at least deserve the benefit of the doubt?

"We don't have time for this!" Ward hissed.

"Well make time, because you're asking us to jeopardize the entire mission," Tripp said.

"To save Skye's life!" Ward replied

"All we want is a good reason, Ward," Bobby said calmly, "Because I know Skye can take care of herself and she will be mad as _hell _if we ruin whatever angle she's working."

"Fine," Ward sighed, "I honestly don't know much about the Diviner, but I know only certain people can touch it."

"Alright," Tripp said

"Raina can, so I've been told," Ward said, "And I think that she thinks that Skye can."

"Why does it matter if Skye can if Hydra has the Diviner?"

"Because I don't think Hydra has it," Ward said, "I think Raina does."

"No way Hydra would give a weapon like that to Raina," Tripp said.

"I don't think they had a choice," Ward said, "If Raina is the only one who can touch it, they might have been forced to obey her."

"But what does it even do?" Hartley asked.

"No idea," Ward admitted, "But I'd rather not find out."  
>Bobby looked conflicted. On one hand, she really did believe that Skye could handle whatever Raina threw at her, but Raina was known for being manipulative and persuasive. This was problem with no right answer, "How are we doing, Fitz?" she asked.<p>

"I don't know," he snapped, "I can't seem to find any sort of signal at all. You're sure you placed the tracker correctly?"

"I'm sure," Ward said. He glanced anxiously at the door. Raina had said Cal could be there any minute, they were running out of time.

"I say we go," Tripp said, "and if the tracker doesn't end up working, we come back."

"I think we should stay," Hartley argued, "The best way to do a job is to do it right the first time."

"And what, go in 'guns blazing' like you suggested when this goes wrong?." Hartley said

"Will you both shut up?" Bobby snapped as she hit the wall out of frustration, "We leave Skye in there."

"But-" Ward began to argue.

"I'm in charge and I say that we leave her," Bobby said. Her tone left no room for argument, "Skye is a brilliant agent and I trust she'll have enough sense to not touch whatever the hell this Diviner thing is."

Tripp and Ward didn't look happy, but they knew not to cross Bobby.

"How much longer do we wait until we accept something is wrong?" Tripp asked.

"Until I hear gunshots, we assume Skye has things under control," Bobby said.

"So we wait until it's too late" Tripp asked

"We wait until she needs our help before we give it" Bobby replied.

"This is such a shitty plan," Tripp whispered

Bobby looked like she was about to chew him out when there was a knock on the door.

"Raina?" A voice called. It was gruff and angry sounding.

"Fuck," Ward muttered.

"Who is that?" Bobby asked, "Ward?"

"Raina, I'm here!" he said again.

"That is our time running out."

A.N This one fought me every step of the way and I'm sure it shows. So yeah, this wasn't my favorite one to write. But I promise, after the next chapter there will be some more Skyeward


	9. Chapter 9

"My parents are dead," Skye said with conviction. Coulson had told her that, and he had never lied to her before. Well, he had never lied to her about anything important. He had never lied to her about her family.

"Your mother is dead," Raina replied, "But your father is alive and well."

"Why should I believe you?" Skye said as she crossed her arms. For the millionth time, she glanced at the door. If she left now she and Fitz would probably be able to finish the job from the Bus. It was tempting to leave Raina and her lies, but no, a mission was a mission, and Skye didn't half ass things.

"Because I wouldn't lie about family," she said simply. Skye searched Raina's eyes for any hint of dishonesty, but all she saw was truth.

"He's alive," Skye said, mostly to herself, "He really is, isn't he."

"You can meet him," Raina said.

"When?" Skye asked.

"Now, if you'd like" Raina said

"Now?"

"He's on his way, Skye, and he's been very anxious to meet you."

Skye looked at the ground. She could meet her father, here and now. She was excited and scared. Shield didn't have any records of who her parents actually were, just that they were dead. Maybe Shield didn't have as many answers as Skye thought they did.

"But Skye," Raina said, "There are things you don't know about him."

"I don't know anything about him," she countered.

"Bad things, Skye," Raina insisted, "Your father is so angel."

"Is anyone?" Skye replied. She couldn't think logically right now. She was still riding the euphoria of actually having a real family. No matter what Raina said about him, Skye was still going to meet him.

"He's killed people. In cold blood," Raina said. Okay, so there was something Raina could say that would give her pause.

"What?" Skye replied.

"I'm not saying that some of those people didn't deserve to die," Raina said, "But your father did kill them. For Hydra."

"He works for Hydra?"

"I'm afraid so, Skye," Raina said, not unsympathetically. Raina liked Skye, she really did, and she didn't like hurting her like this. But Hydra would kill her if they found out she was no longer useful. Raina's self-preservation was winning over her like for Skye.

"What do I do?" Skye asked.

"I suggest you decide fast," Raina said, "He's going to be here soon."

Skye looked at the door that hid her team. She needed to tell them something. Her ten minutes were almost up, and Skye had no doubt that they would come back in here the second Fitz was done. Her father was here, but Skye wasn't sure she was ready to meet him, especially if Raina was telling the truth about him working for Hydra.

"I need some time," She decided. Raina just nodded.

"You'll be able to find him when you want to," she said, "He'll be looking."

"Then I can go?" Skye said. Again, she couldn't believe she was asking Raina's permission to leave.

"Don't forget our deal, Skye," Raina said, "I'll take you to your father when the time comes, and in return you won't tell Shield about the Diviner or the city."

"I think Shield already knows about the Diviner," Skye said.

"Maybe, but they sure as hell don't know what it does."

"What does it do, Raina?" Skye asked.

' "It will open up a whole new world," Raina said. She sounded like she had whenever she talked about the Clairvoyant. Her voice was reverent and dreamlike. Raina had been ensnared yet again by another mystical force, "One that you and I will rule."

"I'd rather not," Skye said.

"Your father said you'd resist at first," Raina said.

"You two talk about me?"

"You're pretty much all he talks about," Raina said, "He loves you, Skye."

"Then he can wait a little while longer to see me," Skye said as she stood up, "I need to get my team."

She was about to turn the nob when a she heard a loud knock on the other side, "Raina!" a voice called. Skye's hand froze on the doorknob.

"I did say he would be here soon."

A.N: I know it's another super short one, but I have a few chapters done right now, so I think I'm going to try and update tomorrow to make up for it. I really like the all reviews I've been getting, keep them coming!


	10. Chapter 10

"Raina, I'm here!" the voice called again.

"I have to go," Skye said as she backed away from the door.

"There's no way you can all get out of her unnoticed," Raina said unbelievingly.

"We're Shield agents," Skye smiled, "We can do anything."

Skye carefully put the lid back on the Diviner and placed it back on its shelf. She turned to Raina, "You don't let anyone get the Diviner and don't tell anyone I was here."

She was out the backdoor before Raina could say another word

"Ward, who is that?" Bobby demanded.

"We have to go," Ward said as he drew his gun, "Now."

Ward put his hand on the doorknob and thrust is open, expecting to see Skye and Raina, but neither was there. The other three quickly joined Ward in staring at the room in confusion, "I don't understand," Hartley said, "We should have been able to hear them leave"

Whoever was outside hit the door again, this time more aggressively, "Open the door, Raina."

Ward swore under his breath. Where the hell was Skye?

"What is going on, Ward," Bobby asked angrily.

"Skye's father is here," Ward said, "and we have to leave."

"I thought her parents were dead," Tripp said.

"So did I, until Hydra told me they weren't" Ward said, "We have to find her, Bobby. If Cal finds her first, he will take her back to Hydra."

"Okay," Bobby said, making a split second decision to trust him. He might not be loyal to Shield, but she could tell that he was loyal to Skye, and he'd do anything to keep her safe, "Out the back door then fan out. Make sure he doesn't see you." She said as she drew her gun and put Skye's earpiece on, "Fitz, we have to abort. Keep working on the tracker and tell me as soon as it's working."  
>"Sure thing," he replied.<p>

The three left threw the back door as quietly as they could. Neither Skye nor Raina were anywhere in sight.

"Wouldn't Skye meeting her father be a good thing," Tripp whispered as they checked the perimeter of the cabin for their missing agent.

"He's not one of the good guys," Ward said, "He's a murderer"

"To be fair, so are you," Hartley said

"I never took joy in it," Ward argued, "He likes killing anyone who gets in the way of his little revenge plan."

"Revenge?"

"Revenge on Shield for killing his wife and taking Skye," Ward replied. It was clear that Cal had already gotten inside the cabin. But they didn't have long until he realized no one was there.

"There's no sign of her," Bobby said, "I bet she ran off into the woods."

"Then we go look for her," Ward said.

"The sun's setting," Tripp said, "There's no way we'll find her in the dark."  
>"Then we find her soon," Ward said, "It's not like she doesn't want to be found."<p>

"She won't want to be found by the wrong people" Bobby said, "She'll hide herself."

"Dammit," Ward said. He'd trained her for espionage himself, she'd be good at it.

"Do you think Raina's with her?" Hartley ask.  
>"I doubt it," Tripp said, "Skye doesn't exactly like Raina"<br>"But she trusts her," Bobby countered.

"We're burning daylight," Ward snapped, "We need to get going,"  
>"You're right, me and Ward will-"<p>

Whatever Bobby was going to say was cut off by gunshots. The three lowered their heads and took shelter behind the back wall of the cabin.

"Hydra?" Hartley asked.

"I don't think so," Bobby said, "We didn't see anyone else enter."

"It's Cal," Ward said, "He must have realized Raina wasn't there and when he saw three Shield agents…"

Bobby flinched as more shots hit near their hiding place, she darted her arm out and fired a few of her own, but none hit their mark.

"How can he be sure that Skye isn't with us?" Hartley asked.

"He can't and he doesn't care," Ward said, "He's a doctor, and a damn good one. He must figure that whatever he might do to her, he can fix."

"So what do we do?" Tripp asked, "Because we can't run a hundred yards into open fire."  
>"No," Bobby murmured. She took a quick look around the corner of the wall, "He's still there"<p>

"We need a plan."

"Okay," Bobby said, taking a deep breath, "We split up. We each run four different ways and look for Skye. If you haven't found her by nightfall, you either stop and rest or go back to where the truck is. None of us will leave until tomorrow night if we're not all back."

"That is a shitty plan," Tripp said.

"Do you have a better one?" Bobby snapped, "He's going to come over here eventually, and I'd rather not kill an agent's father. If we're spread out, he can't hit us all."

"But he can hit a few." Hartley said.

"Run in a zig-zag pattern to make aiming difficult," Bobby said, "Hartley go East, Ward west, Tripp North, and I'll go south. On my count."

They all drew their weapons and prepared to run. Another shower of bullets hit just over their heads, "One…two… three"

The three took off in opposite directions. Ward wasn't sure who Cal was firing at, but he heard shot after shot go off. Even as he was running for his life, all of his thoughts were on Skye. Could she survive on her own if no one found her? Why the hell did she run instead of asking for help? Skye was prone to taking risks, but this was a new one. Ward was almost to the edge of the woods when he saw a bullet hit a tree just ahead of him, "Shit" Ward gasped. Of course, he would be the target. Cal must have recognized him and chosen to take him down. Ward had always suspected that Skye's father didn't like him, and he guessed this was the proof. _Almost there, _the thought just as he fell forward with a searing pain in his shoulder

Skye wasn't sure how far she had run before she heard the gunshots. She instinctively dropped her head, even though she knew they sounded too far away to be for her. But her team… she shouldn't have left them, but if her father was there it was more of a danger for them to be seen with her. It was best that she made her escape first and then met up with them. This would of course be easier if Raina had let her keep her damn communicator.

Now she was relying on sheer luck that she'd run into them. She could still hear shots going off and she prayed that she hadn't just gotten any of her teammates killed. While she ran, she examined her surroundings. She had tried her best to stay on the same path they'd taken getting here, but in her fear Skye worried that she may have made a wrong turn. She didn't recognize anything around her and she didn't seem to be on a path at all. She was only surrounded by trees and rocks and no clear trail in sight.

"Shit," she muttered. Of course she would be the one to get her lost after putting everyone else in danger. She was no less than 2… maybe 3 miles from the cabin. She could find the trail and maybe her teammates if she back tracked. But she could also find Hydra agents or her father.

Skye turned sharply back to the cabin when she heard rustling nearby. Someone was here, but she couldn't see who it was. If it was one of her teammates, then she was glad they were here, but if it was Hydra. She couldn't reveal herself until she was sure this was an ally. But there was nowhere to hide and the sounds were coming closer. She glanced quickly upwards maybe…

She quickly grabbed the branch closest to the ground and began to climb. She hadn't done this since she was a child, and soon Skye's hands were covered in cuts and scrapes, but she was as out of sight as she could be and free to observe without fear of being shot. She had a nice vantage point from the tree and decided it would probably be the safest place to stay for a while if it came down to her being stranded for the night.

She could still hear the rustling, but no one had come into her sight. Maybe it wasn't a person at all. Skye was sure there were at least some animals in this forest big enough to make that much noise. Maybe a bear or a mountain lion or…

"Grant," Skye whispered to herself, "Grant," she said again, relief creeping into her voice. He was alive and… bleeding. She jumped down from the tree, not wasting to time of carefully climbing and ungracefully landed on her feet and promptly fell on her ass in front of him. She leapt up to her feet and touched his shoulders, "Grant?" she asked. How long had he been walking? He seemed so out of it that he must have lost a decent amount of blood.

"Skye," he breathed. His voice was flooded with relief. She was safe. He felt the ground rush up to meet him as he slumped into her arms.ain in his shoulder

a searing aard with a searing ailet hit a tree just ahead of him, "


	11. Chapter 11

Ward wasn't sure how far he had run, he just knew that he had to make it into the forest where it would be easier to hide. The blood was pouring out of his shoulder at a worrying rate and he was worried that an artery may have been hit. He needed to find someone and _fast_ or he was going to bleed out. But he couldn't find someone if he didn't fucking know where he was? He must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Great. Leave it to Grant Ward to get lost _and _injured. "Grant?" someone asked. And now he was hallucinating, perfect. Ward heard footsteps near him. He tried to focus his eyesight on where the noise was coming from, but his vision was going blurry, "Grant?" it was a woman's voice. He didn't allow himself to hope that it was Skye. He wasn't lucky enough to be the one to find her, "Grant?" it definitely sounded like her. Maybe he was dying and imagining the one thing he wanted to hear.

But when he felt her touch him, he knew she was real. He forced himself to open his eyes, despite the fact that he wanted nothing more than to sleep. He needed to see her, if only for a moment, "Skye," he said, relief flooding his voice. She was alive and she didn't look like she was hurt. With that reassurance, he passed out, knowing he was in good care

"Oh god, Grant," Skye murmured as she lowered him to the round as gently as she could. She could see the bullet wound in his shoulder, and was hit with the realization that she didn't have any supplies with her. Grant could very well die out here if she didn't do something. First off, she needed to stop the bleeding, but Hartley had all the medical supplies in her back pack and she was god knows where. Skye took off her jacket quickly and pressed the leather into Ward's shoulder, he flinched slightly, but didn't regain consciousness.

She tied the sleeves as tight as she could around his arm to make a makeshift splint. It wasn't great, but it was all they had for now. Skye wasn't sure what else to do other than wait for him to wake up.

It was too dark to travel now, and she resigned herself to the fact that her and Grant would be spending the night together in the woods. She tried in vain to keep herself warm and she laid back against a tree and kept watch while Grant slept.

When Ward opened his eyes, all her saw was darkness. He tried to sit up and was met by a pain so intense that he fell back down. How late was it? He groaned as he tried again to sit up. This time, he was able to shakily stay elevated, he was so dizzy that he feared he would pass out again.

He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to his surroundings. It wasn't until he began looking around that his eyes fell on a figure lying against a tree. Skye. He hadn't been hallucinating her, she was really here.

He crawled towards her to get a better look. When Ward saw she was unconscious, he became worried. Had she been injured? He visually checked her over for blood, but she was clean.

He felt bad about waking her, but they needed to make some plans. He touched her shoulder gently and shook her, "Skye," he said, "Wake up."

She slowly began to open her eyes. She couldn't believe that she had actually fallen asleep. Ward needed her to be alert and she had fucking fallen asleep.

"Grant?" she said when she noticed that he was conscious, "You're alive" she murmured. For a split second, she considered hugging him just out of sheer relief, but she held herself back. She was happy that he hadn't bled out, but that didn't mean she liked him or anything. She just didn't want Ward getting the wrong idea.

Ward had seen the slight flinch forward and he hoped for a moment that she was going to embrace him. But of course she wouldn't. Sometimes he forgot just how much Skye hated him. She noticed her shiver a bit and said, "Where's your jacket?"

"Holding your blood inside you r body," she replied as nonchalantly as she could. Grant glanced at his shoulder. He hadn't noticed that she had wrapped her jacket around it and bound his arm to his side.

"Thank-"

"Don't mention it" she replied, "How's your shoulder?"

"It hurts like a bitch."

"Yeah, you can expect that from being shot," she replied

"How long have we been out here?" he asked

"I'm not sure," she said, "but we're going to have to stay here for the night."

"We can't" Ward said, "We have to be back at the truck by tomorrow, and we're going to be slowed down enough with my injury."

"So you suggest we walk down a mountain completely blind?" she replied sarcastically, "No wonder men have a shorter life span than women"

Ward couldn't help but crack a smile. The fact that Skye was able to joke showed that she wasn't _that _pissed.

"It's not any safer to stay stationary," Ward said, "Especially with-" he couldn't finish his sentence. He didn't want to worry her any more than necessary

"Especially with my father hunting us, you mean" she said, "Yeah, I know he's here, Ward."

"I-"

"And don't try and tell me you didn't now," she interrupted, "Because I was wondering why you seemed s freaked out when we got to the cabin and that's why. You knew my dad was alive and you didn't tell me."

"I was going to, Skye," he said quietly

"Yeah? When? When he was in front of me? When it was too late for me to decide for myself?"

"When you trusted me!" he snapped, then said quieter, "That's what I was going to tell you Skye. Before the mission, when I told you I had something to say when you were ready to listen, that was it."

"Really?" Skye said. She wanted to believe him. She really wanted to believe that she could trust Ward, but she just couldn't.

"Really, Skye, you have to believe me."

"Last time I believed you, I ended up getting kidnapped," Skye said.

"I… don't have a comeback for that," he admitted.

"Yeah, it's hard to defend kidnapping," Skye deadpanned.

"I've defended myself against worse" he said.

"Like murder?" Skye asked

"Everyone you know has killed someone, Skye," Ward reasoned, "Bobby, May, Lance, Tripp. Hell, even Coulson."

"It's different," she insisted

"How?" Ward asked. He knew instinctively that he shouldn't push her. It was easy to talk when they were forced to be together. But a wrong word now, and he might not be able to talk to her for weeks once they got back on the Bus. But still, he needed to know what was in her head.

"You know why, Grant," she whispered.

"I don't Skye," Ward replied, "I know I fucked up. Royally. But if the killing thing is your problem, then you're giving me a double standard, and I don't think that's fair."

"I wasn't in love with Bobby or May or Lance," Skye snapped, "And they sure as hell never claimed to love me."

She leaned as far back against the tree trunk as she could, however far away from him she could get right now would still be too close.

"You think it was just a claim? I did love you Skye."

"I bet you say that to all the girls you betray," she sneered.

"Skye-"

"Since we're not going to walk," she said, "then I'm going to try and get a few more hours of sleep

She leaned over to him quickly and untied her sweatshirt from his shoulder, "I just need to check this,"

Thankfully, the blood had stopped flowing from his shoulder and the wound was starting to scab in places. But it didn't take a doctor to figure out that any more blood loss, and Ward would be in trouble. They'd have to be careful walking tomorrow so he didn't injure himself more. She tied to jacket back on as tight as she could and laid back down on the found, as far away from Ward as she could reasonably get.

Ward held his breath as she touched him. She hadn't been this close to him in months and he had to savor it. Sure, she was making sure that he wasn't going to bleed out on the night, but she was touching him. As quickly ad it began, she drew her arm away and laid down to sleep. 4

Ward looked at her for a moment. Had she really been in love with him before, or had she just said it in the heat of the moment. He desperately wanted to know, but now was not the time to answer. With her asleep, he needed to keep watch in case anything- or anyone- found them.

But he felt his eyes begin to close almost immediately this was a losing battle, and ward decided that he should rest himself for the long walk tomorrow. If it came down to fighting, Ward and Skye could handle themselves.

He glanced over at Skye again. He couldn't decide if she was actually asleep

or if she was just blocking him out. Either way, she looked freezing.

Before he could all himself out of it, Ward moved over so he was lying on his food side and gently wrapped his arm around her torso. She'd probably hate him in the morning, but her couldn't exactly give her back her jacket, and he couldn't let her freeze to death. That was the lie he told himself anyway and he fell asleep with her pressed against him

e was in good care

g . with voice. she "to sleep. he hear/ he was worried that an artery may have been hit. he e


	12. Chapter 12

She didn't know how, but Skye was back at the cabin. She could hear her father in the other room. She was alone, and there was no sign of Raina. She took in her surroundings. Everything was the same as it had been a few hours before, except for the absence of Raina. She turned to the back door to make her escape, just like she had before, but when she reached the door, Skye found that she couldn't open it. It was unexplainably locked.

What was going on? Had Raina locked her in? Was she going to be forced to meet her father today whether she wanted to or not? She moved the other side of the room. If she was going to confront her father, the others had to get out of here. A Hydra worked meeting four other Shield agents was sure to end in disaster. But that door was locked too. She pulled on it more forcefully. It was thing to put herself art risk, but her team…

She slammed her fists on the door, "Guys!" she yelled, "Guys!"

"Skye," Bobby said, "Skye, are you alright?"

"You need to get out of there."

"We can't, the door's locked."

"Shoot the lock!" Skye said, she knew her father wouldn't wait to come in forever, "Now, Bobby"

She heard the shot, and thought for a moment that they were going to be safe. But then she heard another. And another. And another. And then there was silence.

"Skye?" another voice asked. One foreign to her. Skye put her hand over her mouth to prevent the scream that was building up from escaping. She backed away from the door slowly in horror.

_No, _she thought, _no, this can't be happening. _But it was. Bobby, Ward, Tripp, and Hartley… she couldn't even think it. She saw the knob beginning to turn, but she was too in shock to run, so she just watched as her father entered the room.

Skye sat bolt upright and nearly screamed. She looked around. She was in the woods again. _A dream, _Skye thought as she ran her hand through her sweat soaked bangs. She was still breathing hard, but she could feel her heartbeat return to normal, _just a dream._

She thought she was done with those. The nightmares hadn't happened for months. Skye really hoped that her father's return hadn't retriggered them.

She could see the sun just begin to peak over the top of the mountain. Ward would certainly be up any minute and she'd be expected to walk. Ward-

She looked over. He was already awake and looking at her with worry, "Skye," he said quietly.

"Go back to sleep," she snapped, "We can afford another hour."

Ward grabbed her arm as she began to lie down and forced her to sit back up, "You can't just pretend to sleep whenever you don't want to talk to me"

"I'm not pretending," Skye said, "I'm exhausted."  
>"Because you've been having nightmares all night?"<p>

"Grant, I really don't want to talk about this,"

"I'm sure May will once we get back."

"You wouldn't," she gasped. "Grant, you can't."

"I have to, Skye," Grant replied.

"Can't you just mind your own damn business for once?" Skye yelled, "You've lost the right to worry about me, Grant"

"I'm still going to though," he said, "I will never stop worrying about you, Skye." He said. He voice sounded raw with the sheer emotion at the words. It was the most compassion she'd ever seen out of him before.

"We should go," Skye said. She was worried if she didn't start moving that she'd get lost in the moment and do something stupid.

"We have until dusk tonight. There's no rush."

"You're injured and I'm me," she replied, "We should go."

Ward reluctantly nodded and stood up. He held out his hand to help Skye off the ground. She hesitated a moment before taking it. He lifted her up and pulled her towards him slightly until they were looking each other in the eyes.

"How's your shoulder?" She whispered, her face only about six inches from his.

"It's alright," he shrugged.

"Liar," she murmured. Before he could say anything else, she turned on her heel and began to walk the direction she thought the car was. Grant had no idea if she was right, but he didn't have a better guess, and instead just followed her back down the mountain.

Skye had no idea how long she had been walking. She had forgotten to a watch, among many other useful things, and neither she nor Ward had brought their phones. She mentally chastised herself for being so ill prepared.

She couldn't tell what time it was, but she could see that their pace was considerably slower than when they had climbed up. She was slowing down her normally short and quick steps to make sure that Ward didn't lose sight of her. He could say what he wanted, but Skye knew that he was struggling. Being shot seriously sucked, and she couldn't imagine how much it hurt to hike with a bullet in her shoulder.

Ward could see that he was holding her back, and he hated it. If they had to spend another night out here, it would be his fault. But he was grateful that Skye didn't mention how slow he was going. He could barely feel anything but pain any more, and he worried he wouldn't even notice if he started to bleed again. Skye's jacket had done the trick for the night, but it was a quick fix and wouldn't last forever.

"Do you need a break?" she asked a few minutes later.

"No," he said, holding back a grimace. He needed about 14 hours of sleep and a dose of morphine.

"Well," she said, "I do." She unceremoniously sat down on a rock and downed about half of her remaining water, "How much farther do we have to walk?" she asked.

"No clue," he replied, sitting probably a little too close to her.

She should probably have shifted away from him, but she didn't. If anything, she leaned into him a little bit, being alone with him like this had almost made Skye forget what a monster he was. For a moment, she tricked herself into thinking this was just her and her SO on a mission together. She needed to get back to other people or she was afraid she'd start thinking that permanently, "Do we even know if we're going in the right direction" she asked, trying to ignore the fact that their shoulders brushed together whenever either of them moved.

"I don't know" Ward admitted, "It was dark when we ran and I was never able to get my bearings."

Skye let out a small chuckle, "What?" Grant asked frowning. Why was she laughing about being stranded in the woods?

"Nothing," she smiled, "I just never expected the great Grant Ward to admit that he'd gotten us lost."

"First of all, I didn't admit to anything. I said we _might _be lost," he said, "And second of all, you've been leading."

"You could've corrected me at any time, Grant," she said, "You have no better idea of where we are than I do."

"Fine," he sighed, admitting defeat, "We're probably lost. But the forest has to end somewhere, and we can figure things out when we get back to civilization."

"What about your shoulder, Grant?" she asked.

"What about it?"

"We can't leave it like that if we can't get back to the Bus tonight and we can't exactly take you to a hospital."

Ward sighed. She was right, if they left it untreated much longer, he could very well get an infection, "Let's cross that bridge when it comes" he said. He could tell that Skye wasn't satisfied with his answer, but what could they do? There was nothing they could do about it right now, "We should get going," he said,

She nodded reluctantly and they stood up and continued their trek.

A few hours later it was starting to get dark again. Ward feared that others had already left, but he didn't voice his concerns to Skye. There was no reason to worry her yet. The more they walked, the more signs of civilization they saw. They saw road signs and hiking trails. Unfortunately, they didn't recognize anything they saw in their trip up.

"We so went the wrong direction" Skye murmured as they approached the edge of the forest.

"It appears we did" he agreed

"We are so fucked," she continued.

"Agreed" he said.

He spotted a roadside café a few hundred yards from them, "I'm gonna go inside and see if they have a phone," she said.

"Not alone," Ward replied.

She smiled slightly at his protectiveness, "You've been shot, Grant. People will ask questions."

He clenched his jaw. When did she become so damn logical? "You have five minutes," he said, "Then I assume something is wrong."

"You are so much like Tripp," she said as she lightly jogged away from him."

He watched her all into the café and immediately became apprehensive when she was out of his sight. There was no real reason to be afraid when they were miles away from Cal, but he still was. He began counting the seconds in his head to pass the time. Around the 3 and a held minute mark, she came back out.

"So I have good news and bad news," she said, "The good news is that Gemma picked up her phone and I was able to talk to Coulson."

And the bad?"

"The bad news is, this town is swarming with Hydra, so they can't risk coming for us tonight"

A.N. So Ward and Skye will have to spend another night together alone. I probably won't be able to update for a few days since I have finals, but I would appreciate some suggestions on how the next chapter should go. Another thing, if there is a point where Ward and Skye sleep together, would you prefer I write it out or gloss over it?


	13. Chapter 13

"You're leaving?" Ward asked incredulously, "Alone?"

"We don't really have a choice, Grant," Skye said as she joined him on the bed of the very sketchy hotel room they somehow managed to afford for the night.

"I told you I was fine, Skye," he said.

"You're a goddamn liar," she said calmly, "There's a Walmart a few blocks away. Shitty drugstore bandages are better than no bandages at all."

"You are so stubborn," he hissed.

"And you are going to die if I don't do something," she said as she stood up, "So you're going to stay here and wait for me to come back and save your stupid life."

She was out the door before Ward could even argue with her.

Maybe she shouldn't have stormed out, but she was pissed at Grant's apparent lack of self-preservation. She had believed that it was his will to live that had led him to betrayal in the first place. She really didn't understand him anymore and she wondered if she ever did.

Despite being deep in her thoughts, Skye was still being observant. According to Bobby, they had tracked at least 2 dozen Hydra agents in worrying proximity to where she and Ward were hiding out. Skye had chosen not to bring a weapon to make herself seem less suspicious, but she always felt uneasy when she was unarmed.

She forced herself to walk casually, like she was just on a normal errand and was definitely not a Shield agent looking for medical supplies for her injured partner.

She didn't notice any one acting all undercover-y as she walked into the drug store, but Skye was not the master of observation that she sometimes pretended to be.

Skye could feel a pair of eyes on her as she hastily made her way to the isle she needed. She needed to get out of here and fast. Having to fight would only draw unnecessary attention to herself. She quickly grabbed as many bandages and anti-septic wipes as she could carry and walked quickly to the register.

"Cash or credit?" the clerk asked.

"Cash," she said quickly as she took her remaining money from her pocket. She glanced around, making sure she wasn't being watched. There was no one in her line of sight, so why did she feel so goddamn nervous.

"A lot of medical supplies," the clerk commented as he rang her up. Was it Skye's imagination, or did he sound suspicious?

"I was running low," she shrugged, "You never know when there will be an emergency"

_Hurry up, hurry up, _she thought. The sooner Skye could get back to the relative safety of the hotel room, the happier she would be.

"Would you like you receipt, ma'am?" the clerk asked

"No thank you," she replied as she grabbed the handles of her bag. She turned around, but was stopped when she heard the click of a gun's safety being turned off.

"You really don't want to do that,"

She had been gone for nearly an hour and Ward was getting pretty damn nervous. Even though he didn't want to admit it, she had been right. But that didn't mean he had to like it. And with no way to communicate with her, the minutes he waited for her became agonizing. He was debating whether or not to risk coming after her when the phone in the hotel room rang.

"Grant," Skye said. She was breathing hard and Ward could hear the panic in her voice.

"Skye?" he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine, but we've been compromised."

"Where are you?"

"I'm safe, Grant," she replied, "Stay where you are."

"Like hell I will," he said.

"Hydra found me, but they don't know about you," she said, leaving no room for argument, "I have no idea when I'll be back, but do not come looking for me. Understand?"

"Stop giving me orders, Skye," he growled, "You're not my superior."

"I technically am," she said, "You're still on probation, Agent. Which makes me in charge of you."

"Skye-"

"Coulson doesn't take kindly to insubordination, Agent Ward," Skye said. Ward couldn't even hear a hint of the girl that had left the hotel room earlier.

"Yes, ma'am," Ward said begrudgingly.

"Good, I'll be back as soon as I can."

_I'm fine,_ she had said. What she had meant was that she was alive. Yes, she had been grazed by at least 2 bullets and she could feel bruises beginning to form from where she'd been hit. She was far from fine, but she was alive.

It was probably a miracle that she had gotten back to the phone booth in the diner undetected. It was probably stupid that she had done that rather than rushing back to Ward. But she didn't know how many Hydra agents knew of her whereabouts. She couldn't just walk through town and she needed to make sure Grant didn't come looking for her.

Honestly, she was surprised that that while "I'm your superior" crap had worked on him. Skye was in no way superior to him (except maybe morally) and they both knew it. But as long as she had him in check, Skye wasn't complaining. She should have left the moment she got off the phone with Ward, but she felt obligated to call Coulson.

"Skye?" Gemma asked, picking up her cell after the first ring.

"Hey, Simmons," she said, taking comfort in hearing her friend's voice.

"You sound hurt," she said

"How can you possibly hear an injury from a thousand miles away?" Skye scoffed.

"Your breathing it ragged and shallow, you sound tired…" Simmons listed off about a dozen other symptoms before Skye interrupted her.

"Fine, you caught me, I'm hurt," she said, "But it's nothing serious. Can you put Coulson on?"

"What's happening?" Coulson asked a moment later.

"Hydra," Skye said, "They found me." She heard Coulson swear under his breath, "I'm fine, Ward's fine, but we need to get out of here ASAP"

"I told you, Skye," Coulson said

"I know," Skye replied, "You can't risk it right now and I don't want you to. But if we're not here in the morning… I want you to know what's going on."

"Are you going to run?"

"I don't know," Skye admitted, "Ward's injured and I'm pretty worse for wear. If I can back to the motel undetected, we'll stay, but if not…"

"You two are hurt? You said you were fine."

"It's nothing life-threatening, Coulson. I'm taking care of-"

Skye stopped midsentence as she heard conversation outside the booth she was in.

"Skye?" Coulson asked.

"Shhh," she hissed as she tried to make out the conversation.

"Shield's here," she heard, "One of Coulson's Agents."

"Shit," Skye muttered.

"You sure we should be looking for them?" Another, more feminine voice asked, "After what she did to Lou, I wouldn't want to mess with her."

"She's close to the top, Steph," the first man said, "Get here and we can take the whole operation down."

"Coulson," Skye whispered into the phone, "I have to go."

Right before she hung up, she heard a shot go off.

Coulson heard the shot and Skye's muffled swearing and he felt completely useless. Two of his best agents were in danger and there was nothing he could do, "Skye?" he yelled anyways, but the line had gone dead.

"What's going on, Coulson?" May demanded.

"They've been compromised," he said simply.

"And we're not going to do anything?" May replied incredulously.

"There's nothing to do," Coulson replied.

"We could go get them," she suggested,

"Land a plane in hostile territory? I'd rather not get any more of my agents killed."

"Any more?" May asked, "Someone's dead already?"

"No, no," he replied quickly, "Everyone's alive."

"For now," she deadpanned.

"Melinda-"

"No," she snapped, "I know you think Skye had superhuman abilities, but she doesn't. She's just a normal agent and if she doesn't come back, Coulson, I swear to god there will be hell to pay."

Skye instinctively ducked her head even though she knew the shot had missed high. Was it too much to ask to be away from Hydra long enough to make a phone call?

Skye hid behind the phone booth she had been standing in and again cursed her lack of weapons. Disarming one man was nothing, but two or more? Skye didn't like her odds. She needed to get out of here without getting into any sort of combat.

The only problem was the path to the door was blocked by the Hydra agents she needed to avoid and she didn't know of a back door. Her only hope was that she could catch them off guard.

She took a deep breath and charged, hoping that luck was on her side just this once.

Her sudden pounce had the desired effect and she was able to dart past them without getting shot at. Just as Skye thought she was out of trouble, a leg darted forward and caused her to crash painfully into the asphalt in the parking lot outside.

Good news. The new agent didn't look like she was armed. Bad news. She looked like she would be good competition for May. Skye quickly got to her feet and entered a fighting stance. If she was going to die here, she sure as hell wasn't going to go down easy.

"Agent Skye," the Hydra agent said, "I have heard so much about you."  
>"Always nice to be recognized," she said as she threw her leg out at the woman's stomach. She made contact just where she wanted to, but the agent didn't even seem pained. She launched her fist at Skye's mouth so fast that she wasn't able to duck it. She felt blood in her mouth as she dodged an elbow that was coming towards the back of her head.<p>

"I like to know who I'm fighting" Skye said between punches.

"Agent 33," she replied as her leg made contact with Skye's ribcage.

"Cryptic," she grunted "I like that."

"Remind me to be careful not to kill you," Agent 33 sneered, "The boss wants you alive."

"Whitehall wants me?" Skye asked, "Why?"

"Not just Whitehall," she said, "Your Dad's put a price on your head too."

Skye was just distracted enough the she was caught off guard when Agent 33 lunged at her again. Her head his the ground painfully and she saw stars. Skye tried to remember all of the ways May had taught her how to get out of this, but she was coming up blank. Getting captured would be worse than dying, Skye decided. There was no way out of this, no way she could out match this agent. But maybe…

"Okay," Skye sighed, "I give."

"You…give?" Agent 33 asked. Skye felt the agents hold on her beck loosen and she used the opportunity to jerk her hips up and send the agent sprawling next to her. Skye landed a few quick, successive punches the agent's head and soon she was unconscious.

Skye stood up shakily and took in her surroundings. Luckily, the agents that were inside seemed to think Agent 33 could handle the job by herself and had left. Skye took all of the Agent's weapon and turned around. She turned back and smiled at how she had outsmarted the agent.

"Hail Hydra, bitch," she laughed as she began running back to the hotel room.

A.N. I know it took a while to update, but I have finals this week. I hope the chapter was long enough to make up for it. Review please?


	14. Chapter 14

Ward was just in the brink of sleep when he heard frantic knocking in the door. He rolled out of bed and looked through the peephole. Skye. He noticed the blood dripping from her lip. He opened the door quickly.

"Skye," he said as he looked at her

She stepped inside and slammed the door. She smiled slightly as she held up her bag, "I got the supplies."

"What happened?" Ward asked.

"I'll tell you later," she said, "We have more important things to deal with"

Ward wanted to argue, but he let her lead him to the bed. Skye wasn't a doctor, but May had prioritized safety after she became Skye's SO. She knew how to treat most common field injuries, including bullet wounds. Put that didn't mean she was good at it. There was a lot that Skye had forgotten, she just hoped she could do this well enough to keep him alive until morning.

Ward let out a groan of pain as she untied the jacket from around his shoulder, "Shirt off," she commanded. Ward obeyed. As he pulled off his shirt, he ripped the thin scab that had formed causing blood to drip down his arm.

"Damn," she muttered, "You're losing too much blood." She began taking out the supplies she'd bought at the drug store. It wasn't much, but it was something. She took out an alcohol wipe and looked at him apologetically, "This is gonna hurt, Grant."

"Do what you have to do." He said.

She pressed down on the wound gently at first, noting his wince of pain. He was trying to be brave, downplaying his injury. She wiped more forcefully, causing more blood to spill. She knew this was unpleasant, but the most important thing was sanitation. If he got an infection out here, it was over. She spent a few agonizing minutes just cleaning and wiping away blood. By the time she was finished, Ward was seeing stars. The pain was too much and he was afraid he would pass out.

She took out the bandages and made a think compress. She gently applied it and taped it on, "Done," she said.

"How did it look?"

"Bad, Grant," she said, "What I really needed to do was get the bullet out of you, but I don't know how."

Ward examined her handiwork. It was better than anything he could have done on the run, "I'm okay, Skye," he replied.

"I've been shot before, Grant. It isn't fun," she replied, "And it's only going to get worse."

"Hopefully we'll be gone by morning, then I can get properly treated."

"You know, you're whole 'I'm a manly man who feels no pain' thing is getting really old."

"I never said I wasn't in pain," Ward said, "Tell me what happened."

"I'm going to take a shower first," she said, gesturing to the blood she was covered in, "And put your damn shirt back on"

* * *

><p>Skye spent about a half an hour just letting the hot water cascade down her body. It felt so good to wash away the grime of the day, not to mention all the blood. It was a mixture of her own and Ward's and it nearly made her sick. She'd never been a fan of blood, and it seemed like she was constantly surrounded by it. It was just a hazard of the job.<p>

After she was sufficiently clean, she put her dirty clothes back on. It wasn't like she had anything else to change into. The clothes were more bloodstained than her body had been. It was going to be an unpleasant night.

She put her hair up in a wet, messy bun and went back outside. She found Ward asleep on the bed. She sighed. It was late, the only reason she hadn't crashed was probably the adrenaline that was still coursing through her. She gently lifted up the sleeve of his shirt to examine his shoulder. It didn't look like he had bled through the bandage yet, but they still had hours before he'd get real medical help. Her hands stilled as she saw him stir in his sleep.

"Skye?" he muttered with his eyes still closed.

"Go back to sleep" she whispered as she removed her hands.

Ward's eyes opened and he spent a moment just looking at her. She looked tired, more than anything. Her split lip was beginning to scab.

"Are you planning on sleeping on the floor?" Ward asked as she grabbed a pillow off the bed.

"Yeah," she replied.

"No," Ward said, "I will."

"Don't be chivalrous, Grant," she scoffed, "There's a bullet in your shoulder."

"You're so stubborn," he muttered as he laid back down. He could tell there was no point in arguing with her. She wasn't going to let him sleep on the floor and there was no way in hell she was going to come up with him.

"I prefer 'determined'" she joked, "It makes it sound like it's one of my better qualities"

Ward cracked a smile, "It is," he replied, "Just not when it affects me."

"Yeah, but most of the time it does."

"Yeah… it does."

"Can I ask you something?" Skye asked suddenly. Ward sat up, all thoughts of sleep forgotten.

"Anything," Ward replied.

"My father…" Skye said quietly, "How far will he go to get me?"

"I don't know," Ward answered truthfully, "But I can imagined he'd do just about anything."

"One of the Agents I fought earlier said he put a bounty on me"

"What?" Ward asked, "Why didn't you tell me."

"I don't know," she muttered, "I just… I don't want Coulson finding out."

"Skye…"

"Don't bother with the lecture, I know I should tell him. But I can't have him take me out of the field."

"He won't, Skye," Ward replied.

"He will if he finds out there's a price on my head" Skye countered, "Any hired gun could be after me at any moment. I don't just have Hydra to worry about anymore. He won't let me leave the plane."

"Then we don't tell him," Ward said.

"Grant…"

"I'm on your side, Skye," Ward said, "I'm not loyal to Shield, I'm loyal to you."

"As much as I appreciate that, I am loyal to Shield."

"Then what do we do?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "But right now, I just want to sleep"

"Then we'll sleep," Ward replied as he laid down on the bed, "And we'll figure things out in the morning."


	15. Chapter 15

Skye had been battling against sleep the better part of the night. She was exhausted, but she was still nervous they had been followed. She knew more than one Hydra agent that would be able to break in and slit their throats without even making a sound. Well, that and she was slightly afraid she'd have a dream. If finding out your own father had a bounty on you wasn't nightmare fuel, she wasn't sure what was.

So she stubbornly glared at the ceiling and focused on just keeping her eyes open. Skye tried to ignore Ward's breathing from the bed, but it soon had her in an almost trance like state. The steady noise lulled her eyes shut. She spent minutes fighting, but she soon succumbed to her exhaustion.

She knew where she was. She was back in Raina's cabin, moment after her last dream had ended. Her friends were dead and her father was on the other side of the door. She tried to wake herself up. She pinched and hi herself in vain. Skye she wouldn't wake up until and outside force made her, or the dream ran its course. She focused on her breathing and keeping her heartrate down. If there was anything May's training had been good for, it was keeping her calm during nightmares. Of course, she had hoped it would transcend to real life, but she wasn't yet the super spy May wanted her to be.

She heard the door knob rattle. Was it locked from the inside? Skye prayed it was, that would at least give her more time to formulate a plan. She glanced around and noticed all the doors were gone.

_Think, Skye, what can you do? _ A pesky voice in her head immediately replied _nothing, _but Skye pushed it away. Pessimism would not help her. But then again, neither would standing around and hoping she woke up.

She flinched as she heard another gunshot. This one had probably been directed at the lock. She had moment before she'd be faced by her father. That was when her focus started to crumble. She began breathing hard and she could feel tears threatening to spill. Why was it that Skye could always act so tough, but the second she was faced with an _actual _problem, she cracked?

This was why Coulson had taken her out of the field for so long. This was why May was reluctant to give her any responsibility. This was why Gemma worried every time she was off the bus. Unless Skye had a computer, she was practically worthless. That was her last thought before she felt the world shaking.

Ward awoke to her whimpering. He realized immediately that she was having another nightmare. Just like the night before, she seemed to be completely lost to the waking world. Ward got up and moved to the floor.

"Skye?" he said forcefully as he grabbed her shoulders, "Skye, wake up?"

Ward knew that being gentle would accomplish nothing. She needed to wake up and he needed to wake her. She began shaking her, not exactly roughly, but not gently enough that she wouldn't feel it. She let out a single scream before her eyes opened.

"Grant?" she asked quietly.

"I'm here," he assured her, "It was just a dream." Ward noted the tears streaming down her cheek and gently wiped them away. She let out a strangled cry before pulling him towards her. Skye wrapped her arms tightly around him and sobbed into his good shoulder.

He carefully hugged her back. Ward wasn't sure what to say. She needed some sort of comfort, but he didn't want to break whatever had just happened. He didn't want Skye to pull away from him again,

He decided it was best to lie down and pull her close against his chest, "Shhh," he murmured against her hair as he gently kissed her hair, "It's alright now."

She pulled her head away so she could look into his eyes, "He would have killed you, Grant. He would have killed any of you."

"Is that what this is about, Skye?" Ward asked, "Because we're all alive."

"This time," she replied, "But what about next time? You were the one who said held probably do anything to get me back."

"He won't hurt any of us," Ward insisted, "He got lucky today. He had no idea where we are, Skye."

"We still have to get out of here undetected One slip up, and we're caught."

"We've fought worse odds before and won. We can do this, Skye."

"What happened next then? He'll still be out there, and I'll think about him whenever I'm out in the field."

"Skye," Ward began, "You're a good agent, you won't let him distract you."

"Even if I don't, I'll be putting everyone in danger."

Ward could almost see the thoughts forming in her head. Skye would do anything to make sure her team was safe.

"No," he said forcefully.

"No what?"

"No, you won't give yourself up," Ward repeated.

"Nor right not," she said, "But if it comes down to it, Grant, I won't put any of you in danger."

"I won't let you," Ward replied, "And neither will everyone else."

"Grant-"

"We all have baggage," Ward said, "And pasts that will eventually catch up to us. You don't run as soon as things get hard, you rely on your friends."

Skye gave a small smile, "That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"I've said nice things to you," he scoffed.

"Yeah," she admitted, "But normally after you've handed my ass to me."

Ward smiled back at her, "That's because you don't need reassurances most of the time."

"I need them more than you think," she replied quietly.

Skye settled back down against Ward's chest, content for the moment to just let him comfort her. She knew this was all they had. As soon as she was back on the Bus, she'd have to go back to being careful around him. People would get suspicious if they got too close too fast. No one could know about her nightmare. Skye would be lucky is Coulson kept her out in the field after this, she didn't need to give him any more reasons to worry about her.

"What are we doing Skye?" she heard Ward say as she began to drift off to sleep.

"I'm trusting my teammate," Skye said sleepily, "And nothing more.  
>"And when we get back to the Bus?" Warf replied.<br>"I got back to pretending like I dint trust you," she said.

Ward nodded his head. It wasn't ideal, but at least she was trusting him again. Ward fell asleep vowing that he would make himself worthy of her trust.


	16. Chapter 16

Skye's body clock woke her up just before sunrise. She was pleasantly surprised to see Ward still asleep, his arm curled around her waist holding her close to him. But it wasn't like Ward to sleep in. He was always up at 5 AM every day and it was almost 7 now. Let blood loss must have left him more fatigued than either them predicted.

And it probably didn't help that Skye had awoken him in the middle of the night with her crying. Skye sat up slowly, careful not to wake him and slowly moved to the phone on the bedside table. Honestly, she really wanted to get out of here. She was looking forward to be able to get away from Ward for a bit. Skye was starting to trust him again, and she appreciated everything he had done for her this weekend. But the past few nights had made things too confusing for her.

Apart from sleeping in his arms last night, she had told Ward she had been in love with him. Skye needed some time to sort out her feelings, and she couldn't do that while they were sharing a bedroom. The sooner she got back to the Bus the better.

"Skye?" Jemma asked sleepily when she picked up after a few rings.

"Hey, Jems," he replied, a small smile creeping onto her face just hearing her friend's voice.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Skye said, "Can you put either Coulson or May on the phone?"

"I don't know if they're awake yet," Jemma mused.

"May is," Skye insisted. May was the one who had been training her to wake up so early. May would be up, and probably eager to talk to her agent-in-training.

"Okay," Jemma replied, "Give me a moment."

Skye waited patiently on the other end of the line as Jemma presumably got her SO. She glanced back at Ward, who was still sleeping, not even seeming to have noticed her absence.

She noticed there was no dried blood on his shirt. It seemed lie whatever she had done last night had worked. Ward would probably be alright until they got back to the Bus.

"Skye?" Melinda asked, pulling Skye out of her thoughts.

"Hey," Skye replied. She couldn't describe how happy she was to hear May's voice. She didn't realize how much she had relied on her SO until she had to be separated from her. She missed having May watching her back.

"Is something wrong?" May asked after hearing Skye's tone. She sounded sad and exhausted. If something had happened to her...

"No," Skye said quickly, "I just want to be home."

"We're going to come get you," May lied. In truth, Coulson wasn't planning on sending anyone in. He wasn't sure how safe it would be to send in an extraction team. But after hearing Skye… May knew she had to get the girl out of there.

"Really?" Skye asked, unable to hide the relief from her voice.

"Yes," May replied without any hesitation. All it would take was a little convincing to get Coulson to send someone in, "Call back in a few hours and I'll tell you what to do."

"Thank God," Skye breathed.

"You should hang up," May instructed. What she wanted to say to Skye, she couldn't right now, "We have no idea who could be listening in."

"Yeah," Skye agreed, "I'll see you in a bit."

May couldn't help but smile a bit as she heard the other receiver click signaling the end of the call

* * *

><p>"So they're coming for us?" Ward asked. He had been awake for most of the phone call and was listening in.<p>

"Jesus, Grant," Skye gasped as she whipped around, "You scared me."

"Sorry," he replied, struggling to sit up. His shoulder hurt even worse than yesterday. He was going to need some serious painkillers when they got back.

"May said they're sending in an extraction team."

"Into hostile territory?" Ward said mostly to himself, "That's risky."

Skye just shrugged in response, "He's done worse."

Ward pursed his lips. He didn't want to dash her hoped, but it would be dangerous getting out of here. They would probably fare better just trying to leave themselves, but neither of them were in a state to travel. Ward could see the wound on her lip had scabbed over during the night. She was trying to hide all the injuries she had suffered last night, but Ward could see that she was hurting with every move she made. She winced every time she drew in a breath.

"Is there anything we can do until they figure out a plan?" he asked.

"Not really," she admitted. Skye hated feeling useless more than everything, yet that was all she seemed to be feeling lately.

"Then rest," he ordered, "I'll keep watch."

For once, Skye didn't argue with him.

* * *

><p>May knew Coulson was awake, but she also knew he didn't like to be disturbed before breakfast. Hunger always made him cranky, but the situation was urgent. With a little bit of trepidation, she made her way to his office.<p>

As expected, he was already up and looking through some paperwork. She didn't bother making her presence known, Coulson knew she was there.

"May," he said without looking up, "Is there something you need?"

"You know what I need," she replied.

Coulson put down the file and looked at May. Her expression made him hesitate a little bit. In their years of working together, he had only seen her look afraid a handful of times. But now… he could see the fear in her eyes that she was desperately trying to hide.

"Melinda," he sighed, "I don't know what to do."

"Send people in," she replied.

"If I could, I would," he insisted, "But I can't send agents in there to die."

"Yet that's exactly what you did with Skye."

Coulson couldn't help but feel the sting of her words. May was right, Coulson had sent Skye to die. He didn't know what he was doing and he never suspected the new threats that would arise. Her father… Coulson could never have predicted that her father was alive and with Hydra. The situation Skye was in now was his fault, but he couldn't do anything right now. He couldn't send any agents in with good conscience.

"Any agent out there would gladly volunteer to go get her," May pressed, "Ask any of them."

"I know," he admitted, "I know they are all willing, but I need them here."

"Then send me," she said quietly.

"What?"

"I'll go, Coulson."

Coulson looked at her. He now saw determination in her eyes as well as fear and he realized just how deep her feelings for Skye were.

"You're my best agent, May," he replied. His attempts to talk her out of this were getting weaker and weaker. May could tell that she was gaining ground against him.

"Then I have the highest chance at survival."

"You're my second in command. I have no idea what I'd do without you."

"You need her too, Phil," she replied sadly, "For more than just her skills as an agent."

"You try and get in and out undetected," he replied begrudgingly, "You don't try and take down any Hydra agents. You get Skye and Ward and you don't take any unnecessary risks."

"Yes, Sir," she replied dutifully, a small smile gracing her face.

"You understand, Melinda, that if this goes wrong… I can't send in anyone after you."

"I understand," she replied.

"I'll have a car take you as far as they can," Coulson said looking away from you, "Be ready in half an hour."

May's smiled widened as she left Coulson's office. She felt better knowing she would be the one going in. she trusted every agent here, but the only one she truly trusted to save Skye was herself

A.N. It's been a while hasn't it? I've had a lot to do recently and have 3 other stories and it's been hard to find the time. But I promise, I will not abandon this. I discovered that I really like writing May, and I hope I can get more into her and Skye's dynamic. Tell me what you think!


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